Little Egret
Egretta garzetta
(pp.72–73)
All new records
| 2007 |
New record 24 Dec – One (location not recorded by observer). |
| 2008 |
New records 1 May – One (location not recorded by observer). These represent the 20th, 21st and 22nd records for Lundy. |
| 2009 |
New records 17 Jul – One by the Sugar Loaf flew over Castle Hill and continued westwards (J.W. Leonard). The 23rd record for Lundy. |
| 2010 |
New record 17 Oct – Two. The 24th record for Lundy. |
| 2011 |
New records 24 May – One flying from Pondsbury towards the Logan Stone, settled for a time in Halfway Wall Bay, before circling over Tibbett’s and back to Pondsbury (S. Barnes et al.). 27 Jun – One flying west over Pondsbury (M. & K. Fryer). 16 Sep – One off East Side, south of quarries, (S. Evans); also reported on 17th. 2 Oct – One on the East Side, between the Landing Bay and Miller’s Cake (J.R. Diamond, T.A Jones et al.). The 25th to 28th records for Lundy. |
| 2013 |
New records 13 May – An unidentified egret, thought probably to be a Little Egret, at Pondsbury and on rocks in Threequarter Wall Bay. 21 Aug – One in the Landing Bay (R.M. MacDonald). The 29th record for Lundy. |
| 2014 |
New record 19 May – Two flew low over the sea near the Battery. The 30th LFS record. Two-thirds of the Little Egret records for the island have been from 2000 onwards. |
| 2015 |
New record 10 to 16 May – There were sightings of ones and twos on at least four dates as follows (though it is unclear how many birds were involved altogether): one on rocks below North Light on 10th; one at Brazen Ward on 11th; two at Jenny’s Cove on 13th; two flying NW away from the island off North End were lost to sight on 16th (Chris Baillie/A Rocha group, Tom Nunn et al.). The 31st LFS record. |
| 2016 |
New records There were four records in autumn and early winter, constituting the 32nd to 35th LFS records: 13 Sep – One flying north along the East Side (Andy Turner). 3 Nov – One on White Beach on the afternoon of 3 Nov (James Diamond). 13 Dec – One on the Landing Bay beach, from where it flew to settle out of sight behind Rat Island (Sue Waterfield & Mark Kelly). 17 Dec – Two at North East Point in the early afternoon flew north out to sea (Philip & Helen Lymbery). |
| 2017 |
New records Records involving at least five individuals between 20 Apr and 2 Nov. 20 to 22 Apr – One around rock pools off Lametor on 20th (Dean Jones). Presumably the same bird was flushed from below the Beach Road and flew up Millcombe where it spent time around the pond and then on the lawn of Millcombe House on 22 Apr. Sadly, this individual was later found dead; the corpse was emaciated and it is thought the bird probably died from starvation (Martin Thorne, Dean Jones). 23 May to 2 Jun – One was in the Landing Bay on 23 May and perhaps the same bird was seen again on 30 May. One flew south off the Terrace on 2 Jun (Steve Compton, Roger & Rosy Key). 13 & 14 Aug – One was in the Devil’s Kitchen on 13 & 14 Aug (Dean Jones & Zoë Barton). 28 Oct & 2 Nov – One flew below Benjamin’s Chair on 28 Oct (Andy Jayne); two flew north along the East Side on 2 Nov (Paul Holt). |
| 2018 |
New records 24 Apr – One flew south across the Landing Bay (Helen & Philip Lymbery). 7 Jun – One at Barton Pond was also seen in flight over the Tavern garden (Mark Kelly et al.) 4 Oct – Four flew past the Landing Bay from the north-east, rounded Rat Island and continued south-west (Carol & Chris Baillie). Although Little Egrets have been recorded virtually annually since 2007 (only 2012 being blank), this the highest ever count for the island, the previous maximum being three on 16 May 2002. |
| 2019 |
New records 10 to 27 Oct – One on 10th flew north along the East Side (Tim Smith); one on Pondsbury on 24th flew off west before turning to the south (Mark & Jo Harris); and one on 27th seen in flight near North End, landing periodically in pools on the main track before flying south (Trevor & Karen Dobie) was later feeding in flooded grassland by the water tanks, and seen again the following day in St John’s Valley (Chris & Carol Baillie). |
| 2021 |
New records 29 Aug – Two were seen at the Devil’s Kitchen (Jamie Dunning). 12 Dec – One flew past North Light (Jaclyn Pearson). |
| 2022 |
New records 22 Jul – One flew over the Castle on 22 Jul (Chris & Sharron Blackmore). 5 to 8 Nov – One roosted in Millcombe on 5th and was also seen in the Landing Bay up to 8th (Jane Sharkey, Stuart Cossey). 2 Dec – One flew east from the Landing Bay (Max Khoo). |
For the latest sightings and photos of birds on Lundy visit the
Lundy Bird Observatory website