Breeding pair of great white egrets spotted

The first recorded breeding pair of great white egrets have been seen in Nottinghamshire.

The birds were spotted raising a brood of up to five chicks on an island at Besthorpe Nature Reserve in the Trent Valley earlier in the summer.

Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust said it believed a second breeding pair were thought to have chicks which had fledged.

A group of young cattle egrets have also been spotted in the county.

Great white egrets are a member of the heron family and have become more common visitors in recent years.

The RSPB (Royal Society for the Protection of Birds) said they "were formerly a very rare bird in Britain but can now be seen throughout the year", and the first breeding pair was spotted in Somerset in 2012.

Wayne Ball, head of nature recovery (south) for Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust, is in charge of the team looking after Besthorpe Nature Reserve, which was previously a commercial quarry.

He said they were "absolutely delighted" to see the arrival of the egrets.

"We didn't want to release any details until we knew they'd fledged safely, but it's great to now be able to share the news," he said.

Joe Harris, manager of the neighbouring Langford Lowfield site for the RSPB, said the birds had been visiting from their nearby nesting site to feed their families.

"The breeding success underlines the importance of having big, connected, complementary habitats close by," he said.

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