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RAUK - Archived Forum - continental invader

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continental invader:

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Rupe
Member
Joined: 17 Sep 2007
No. of posts: 27


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Posted: 07 Mar 2010
Not sure if this is the right catagory for this thread but is anyone getting concerned about the Little Egret(Egretta garzetta invasion.Here in Essex they are becoming a very common sight.Ten years or more ago they were a rariety but now most streams,rivers,ponds or marshland have a pair or more of them.Now that the amphibian breeding season is starting will they be another threat to our native species.If they follow the Collered dove explosion im sure that they will be.I'm sure if a creature started killing thousands of native birds it would quickly have a price on it's head.However it is a natural visitor and not an introduced species so i suppose nothing can be done.
                                    Clive
Suzi
Senior Member
Joined: 06 Apr 2005
No. of posts: 860


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Posted: 07 Mar 2010
Very common here in Devon - to well inland. I've seen them up north as well, which others living there will confirm. 
Suz
Peter
Senior Member
Joined: 17 Jan 2008
No. of posts: 260


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Posted: 07 Mar 2010

 

Plenty here too (South and West Wales).

[QUOTE=Rupe]However it is a natural visitor and not an introduced species so i suppose nothing can be done.
                                    Clive[/QUOTE]

In a nutshell I would have thought?





Caleb
Forum Coordinator
Joined: 17 Feb 2003
No. of posts: 448


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Posted: 08 Mar 2010
[QUOTE=Suzi]I've seen them up north as well, which others living there will confirm.á
[/QUOTE]

Yes, I saw a couple on Lindisfarne last year.
Suzi
Senior Member
Joined: 06 Apr 2005
No. of posts: 860


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Posted: 08 Mar 2010
Are they going to be more of a threat than herons? 
Suz
Bullseye
Member
Joined: 04 Apr 2007
No. of posts: 9


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Posted: 17 Mar 2010
Quite a lot down here in the SouthEast,they don't decimate the amphibian populations in the rest of Europe so I can't see why they would here,plenty of Marshies/Edibles for them here though.They do seem to favour estuaries here,not many frogs there.
"I'm not saying there shoud be capital punishment for stupidity,but why don't we take the safety labels off and let the issue resolve itself ?."
Suzi
Senior Member
Joined: 06 Apr 2005
No. of posts: 860


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Posted: 17 Mar 2010
On many inland rivers and streams here in Devon and this morning one was circling the garden as if coming in to land. I guess it saw the stream at the bottom of the garden because my pond is only 6ft in length! They spend quite a bit of time up trees as well. 
Suz
Rupe
Member
Joined: 17 Sep 2007
No. of posts: 27


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Posted: 18 Mar 2010
This is my concern.They are far more tolerant to human disturbence than herons.The ones i see rarely fly more than 50mtrs and land further down(or up)stream and continue to do this until doubling back.Herons on the otherhand often fly out of sight.As for the rest of europe i saw only a few in spain and none in south france or north italy. As england is an island i believe that although they may prefer estuaries that no parts of the country are unreachable by daily migration.This may not be the case for most of europe. Any comments from RSPB members ?
                                            Clive
herpetologic2
Senior Member
Joined: 15 Jun 2004
No. of posts: 1369


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Posted: 21 Mar 2010
Not a problem in my view - at least the introduced marsh frogs will provide
food for them.

The next natural coloniser is going to be the Cattle Egret - a larger heron
species - all evidence of global climate change!
Vice Chair of ARG UK - self employed consultant -
visit ARG UK & Alresford Wildlife
herpetologic2
Senior Member
Joined: 15 Jun 2004
No. of posts: 1369


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Posted: 21 Mar 2010
PS it is the degradation and destruction of natural habitats by humans
which is the biggest threat to amphibians and reptiles in this country
anyway
Vice Chair of ARG UK - self employed consultant -
visit ARG UK & Alresford Wildlife
will j
Member
Joined: 06 Aug 2005
No. of posts: 18


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Posted: 22 Mar 2010

As it has been said already, Little Egrets are widespread throughout the Old World and are unlikely to cause amphibian declines. As we only have two other native heron species (Grey Heron and the still localised Bittern) we are rather impoverished on the heron front c.f. similar latitudes in Europe, East Asia and North America which all have around 8 species give or take.

On a side note, Cattle Egrets occupy a rather different niche to other heron species and amphibians would form a much smaller part of the diet then say, Grey Herons or Little Egrets.


Birder from Shropshire, adrift in Cornwall!

- continental invader

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