Egret Central

I stood and counted the egrets - I could see sixty six from where I was standing. That means there must be more. I can remember there being no egrets in Britain, and being really excited seeing them as I travelled through France. Then one occasionally turned up here - a real rarity. So to have this many in one place is extraordinary.

In the image they are all little egrets, except for five great egrets at the back and one which had just landed at the front amongst the little egrets and is being mobbed by a black headed gull. This image illustrates the size difference between little and great.

I met P at RSPB Burton Mere, he had come up from Shropshire. We have known each other, and gone birding together, since we were both 18, but not in recent decades. In the last 18 months I have met up with many friends I haven’t seen in years. It’s been good.

My blip has to be of birds (it’s why we’re at the reserve) but my favourite photo of the day is of a southern hawker (I think) dragonfly, in extras. It was a good day - plenty of birds, and quite a few butterflies. Highlight for me - because I haven’t seen one for a while - was clear views of a mediterranean gull, but too distant for a good photo.