Dartmoors very first and only recorded Great White Egret, flies in to feed at dusk on Venford Reservoir.
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I must have seen a thousand Great White Egrets without exageration. Most, but not all in the wetlands and ponds of Southern Florida, so when I heard that one had been seen yesterday reasonably close by in Devon, I though it was too much of an opportunity to overlook. The problem was that today's weather was absolutely dreadful with rain, rain and more rain! But at 3 it seemed to lessen just a bit and I decided to visit Venford Reservoir to see if it was still there. I expected to see a few birders when I arrived but instead, there was just two, Julia and George Harris, quite a well known couple who are involved with Devon Birds and the Dartmoor Study Group. Julia had posted the sighting on Wednesday so I shouldn't have been surprised to see her. The only problem was there was no bird! We chatted for a while and then I decided to see if I could creep up on the Goosanders that were swimming near the edges of the reservoir. That was a negative so I sat on a rock on the edge of the water and contemplated the scene! Suddenly from my left, there was a bird, a massive all white egret, swoopig and gliding down to the water! It was the Great White Egret. I photogaphed it in flight and then attempted to get near to it. This was hard and I never did get close enoughto to be really happy with my picture, but at least I managed a record shot and I will be able to include another species for my Devon gallery. Julia told me that this very rare bird was in fact the first ever record for the Dartmoor National Park so it was quite something and I was absolutely chuffed to be able to photograph it. In the end, after successfully fishing it flew up in to some trees near to the road and then left the area seeming to disappear in to the distance. I am not sure that it returned but I may tomorrow, in the hope of better pictures.
The Great White Egret fishing.
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