Great White and Little Egrets Abound at Paxton Pits

We counted around a dozen Great White Egrets, Little Egrets  and Grey Herons collectively at Paxton Pits during our Third Thursday walk today plus a pair of Great Crested Grebes in winter plumage but still preening in tandem as in their spring displays. 

Paxton 18th July

 A few images taken on the Third Thursday Walk at Paxton. A warm day so a few insects around including a Bee-wolf Wasp, Brimstone, Robber Fly and Southern Hawker, the Great Crested Grebes and the Common Terns were busy fishing and feeding their young, Tufted ducks have returned, while up to 6 Little Egrets have taken up residence with the Grey Herons.

St Albans Herons

I have visited St Albans most years from 2012 to watch the Herons and friends busy courting, mating and building nests around the second week in March. After a very sparse year in 2023, this year is encouraging as we located 5 nests and maybe a couple of unpaired youngsters. The early light with low sunshine was ideal but it clouded over later so a different approach in processing at the end. My favourite is the second image - sheer 'Joie de Vivre' which is how they made me feel. The grumpy one giving the evil eye to the Coot is probably more representative of their behaviour.

Paxton Pits

The mist cleared at Paxton on Saturday to give some wonderful reflections with the absence of wind. Cormorants, Herons, Coot and Moorhens were all getting on with building nests and setting up territories etc

 

Parkgate 12th February

Parkgate on Monday presented so many spectacles - the view of masses of birds against the industrial scenes on the other side of the estuary and the speed with which the water rushed in to inundate the marshes at high tide. There were lots of White Egrets catching the voles, flocks of Pipits and Skylark, hovering Kestrels, Herons etc.