Little Egret Egretta garzetta
With a white body and fluffy snowy plumes on its crest and back, the little egret is relatively easy to identify. Generally they are solitary and silent birds, however they do breed and make harsh alarm calls is disturbed in the roost.
Conservation status in Norfolk
Little egrets first arrived in the UK in the 1950s and first bred in Dorset in 1996. Colonisation of Norfolk began in earnest during the 1990s and the species is now a well established and increasing breeding resident. Nationally the little egret is not a species of concern and is generally increasing.
How to help
Report your sightings to the Norfolk Biological Records Centre or to the BTO Atlas as a roving record.
Gordan Coupland
Brian McFarlane
Peter Vousden
Information on the Little Egret
How to recognise
The little egret is a type of small heron with a body length of 56-61cm. It has white feathers with fluffy white plumes on its crest, on its chest and on its back above the tail feathers. The bill and legs are black, although its feet are bright yellow. They feed by walking through the water and catching prey such as fish and crustaceans. Generally they are solitary birds; however, they do breed and roost colonially in the tops of trees near water.
Where to see
Little egrets feed in water and so can normally be found in marshy or flooded grassy areas, lakes and estuaries. In Norfolk you can mainly find them along the north coast, especially places like Holkham and Titchwell, but they also inhabit Broadland in increasing numbers.
When to see
They can be seen all year round although there are seasonal movements. Peak numbers can be found during late summer and autumn although there is now a substantial winter roost at Holkham NNR.
Did you know?
The neck plumes on a little egret were once more valuable that gold! They were taken to use in the hat trade and actually caused extinction of some populations.
Related questions
What was the all white heron I saw in Norfolk?
The bird you saw was almost certainly a little egret.
These small white herons are becoming widespread in the UK and occur in increasing numbers along the Norfolk coast and in the Broads. They are also now beginning to appear in other areas of inland Norfolk.
It’s difficult to believe that Norfolk’s very first little egret was recorded as recently as 1952 ( it was filmed at NWT Cley Marshes) and they remained an extreme rarity until the 1990s. Over the last decade they have started breeding both in the Norfolk Broads and on the coast and the rate of increase has been phenomenal.
A close view shows they are smaller than a grey heron and they also have striking yellow feet. They wave their yellow feet around in shallow water and it’s said this acts as a lure for fish!
Many people suggest the increase of little egrets is related to changing climate and global warming. It also seems that another member of the family, the cattle egret, is beginning to colonise the country and parties of a dozen or so have been a regular feature of south-western Britain recently. To add to the picture great white egrets (about the size of our grey heron but all white) have been wandering around Norfolk and Suffolk for the last few months. Perhaps it won’t be too long before we have two or maybe three species of white heron resident in the county!