From Melanie
Felton: (delayed posting)
I have been birding for 30 plus years, my garden backs onto the Quoits Water Mill near Pembroke. Last Wednesday 4th November I just happened to look out of my window and saw an egret coming into land but was more jerky than usual. Checked it out with my scope - yellow beak much to my amazement! I regularly check the little egrets out in the hope of seeing a cattle. I then saw a group of 5 egrets to the left and checked them out and all had yellow beaks so saw 6 cattle egret together in total. I work 12 hour shifts but since then there have been 2-3 in with the little egrets when I have been home. Today Friday 13th at 09.00 there were 6 cattle again. I went through them one by one waiting for them to finish preening and counted 7 orange beaks. Allan who posted my previous sighting came and saw 3 of them and verified them as cattle egrets
Attached is a
record shot please excuse the poor quality but at the limit of my lens. The
cattle egret are the group of 6 in the middle of the shot with the 7th to the
right of the group near the herons. If you zoom in you can make out their
yellow beaks unfortunately they don't all look up together.
(Update: On the morning of the 18th there were 38 egrets roosting in the area)
