Rare great white egret hatches for first time in the UK

 
An egret flies along the river Brahmaputra in Gauhati, India, Thursday, May 17, 2012. Egrets build their nests on trees along the river Brahmaputra during the monsoon season every year.
31 May 2012

A great white egret chick has hatched in England, making a new breeding bird record for the UK, Natural England has said.

The organisation announced last week that the bird - a species of heron - had nested in Britain for the first time.

Local birdwatchers spotted nesting activity on the Shapwick Heath Reserve, in Somerset, earlier this year.

The bird's nest, concealed deep in the reed beds, has been under constant watch since April.

But it was not until Tuesday that volunteers on the monitoring team spotted one chick and had glimpses of what might have been a second.

The presence of at least one chick was confirmed yesterday morning by Natural England's great white egret project officer Kevin Anderson.

"We've definitely seen one chick stretching a wing just before the adult arrived and also after it left and we continue to monitor for more," Mr Anderson said.

"The eggs of the great white egret can hatch over a period of a few days so it may be that if there are other young on the nest they will be less developed and won't be visible yet."

The great white egret is more usually found in mainland Europe, but in recent years there have been increased sightings of the birds in England.

Simon Clarke, senior reserve manager at Shapwick Heath, said: "This is what we had all been waiting for.

"We are all delighted that we have Britain's first breeding record for great white egrets at this special site.

"We now look forward to watching its first tentative steps and flights out over the reed bed."

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