Great White Egret

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Great White Egret in the UK

The Great White Egret was a rare visitor to Britain until the 2000s. It first bred in 2012 at Shapwick Heath in Somerset and is now a resident breeding bird. Numbers have climbed quickly: 10 pairs in 2017, 16 to 24 pairs in 2019, and record totals reported by the Rare Breeding Birds Panel in 2022 and again in 2023. A second site, Holkham in Norfolk, was occupied in 2017, and Scotland's first successful pair bred at Loch of Strathbeg in 2024. Away from colonies it is seen across lowland Britain in every month. It is Amber-listed.

Where and when to see a Great White Egret

The Avalon Marshes in Somerset are the stronghold: RSPB Ham Wall and Shapwick Heath have birds all year, often several in view. RSPB Burton Mere Wetlands on the Dee Estuary and the north Norfolk coast around Holkham are also reliable. Elsewhere, check reedbeds, flooded gravel pits, reservoir margins, grazing marsh ditches and estuaries. Late summer and autumn bring the most wanderers inland, as young birds disperse. It feeds by day, standing in the open in shallow water, so it is easy to see where present.

Habitat, diet and field notes

Habitat: Marshes, reedbeds.
Diet: Fish, amphibians.
Field note: Now breeding in UK.

How to identify a Great White Egret

All white and as tall as a Grey Heron, with a very long, thin neck usually held in a sharp kink. For most of the year the bill is long, dagger-shaped and yellow, and the legs and feet are dark. In the breeding season the bill turns black, the skin in front of the eye goes green and the upper legs yellowish. The gape line runs back beyond the eye. It stands still or wades slowly, leaning forward. In flight the wingbeats are slow and heavy and the legs trail far behind the tail.

Call and song

Usually silent. A bird flushed or squabbling over a fishing spot gives a low, dry, rattling croak, "krrraak", deeper than a Little Egret's. Heard something you cannot place? Bird Hear identifies UK birds from a 10 second recording, free in your browser.

Confusion species

• Little Egret: Little Egret is half the size with a black bill all year and black legs ending in bright yellow feet.
• Cattle Egret: Cattle Egret is small and stocky with a short yellow bill and short neck, and feeds in fields among livestock.
• Eurasian Spoonbill: Spoonbill has a long, flat, spoon-tipped bill and flies with its neck stretched straight out, not folded back.

Related guide Bird migration in Britain.

Conservation status and Birdedex points

In the Birdedex the Great White Egret is an Uncommon tier bird, worth +3 points when you log one. It is not on the Red or Amber lists in Birds of Conservation Concern 5.

Where to see it

Reserves where the Great White Egret is on the list:

• RSPB Ham Wall
• RSPB Minsmere

Recent UK sightings

Similar birds

• Purple HeronRare · Reedbeds (rare breeder)
• Great Blue HeronLegendary · Coast
• Grey HeronCommon · Lakes
• Water RailUncommon · Reedbeds
• Bearded TitUncommon · Large reedbeds (E. England)
• Common CuckooUncommon · Reedbeds

Great White Egret: quick answers

Where can I see a Great White Egret in the UK?

The Somerset Levels are the surest bet at any season. Beyond that, most large wetland reserves in England and Wales now get them, mainly from July to March. They are still scarcer in Scotland and Northern Ireland but spreading.

Is the Great White Egret rare in the UK?

Not any more. Thirty years ago one would draw a crowd. It has followed the Little Egret in colonising from the Continent, and many counties have taken it off their rarity lists. It is still far less numerous than Little Egret.

What does a Great White Egret eat?

Fish above all, speared with a fast strike of the neck. It also takes frogs, newts, water insects and small mammals such as voles, and will hunt in damp fields as well as in water. It fishes in deeper water than a Little Egret can reach.

Kit that helps

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