In Richard Broughton's 2002 Birds of the Hull Area, there is a single record of Little Egret, shot at Paull in 1826, which also happens to be the first UK record. There were no more recent Hull records, but at the time the book was published, the Little Egret was making good progress colonising the UK. They first bred in Britain in Dorset in 1996, and in Yorkshire in 2009, and the species is now widely distributed south of the Humber, with a more scattered distribution in the north. There are well over 1000 breeding pairs in the UK. The causes of this striking population expansion are unclear, but the fact that the species is susceptible to cold weather makes global warming a likely driver of the increase.
Status and Distribution in Hull
The first record in Hull is from 2009. Since then, and particularly during the last decade, they have become a regular if still scarce bird. Little Egrets can be encountered in the Hull area year round. There is no breeding colony in Hull, they have bred at Hedon since 2017. The River Hull, Noddle Hill, Garrowby Community Orchard, East Carr and the Setting Dyke. Any water body, including small ditches, containing small fish such as sticklebacks, is likely to be attractive to the species.
A Great White Egret with four Little Egrets at the Cross Dyke, Noddle Hill. 21/01/2024. The Great White Egret is another rapidly expanding species that is now regular in East Yorkshire. This was my first Hull record.
Conservation and managementThe species is doing very well and usually nests in Grey Heron colonies. It is Green listed. There is no specific conservation action that might favour them, but good availability of wetlands and water quality with enough fish fry are key requirements.
More information
Broughton, Richard K. Birds of the Hull Area.
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