The Lincolnshire Bird Club

Having biked a 50 mile trip last Friday to Kirkby 0n Bain and dipped on the G W Egret there, as all was frozen up, I had a day out today from Saltfleet Haven and worked back a long the Eau to Manby Flashes between 11 and 3.

Saltfleet Haven, no sign of the Twite flock but 90 Cormorant on the beach, 1 nice male Pintail with a flock of 14 Wigeon, 1 Ringed Plover amongst the Dunlin, 2 Rock Pipits and 1 female Marsh Harrier south.

Sea View, 2 Woodcock flushed from the dunes while scanning the marshes.

Rimac, male Merlin sitting on a post for 10 mins then chasing without success, the flocks of Redshank and Dunlin feeding on the salt marsh. Unusually, 5 Goosander 4 redheads and 1 male, flew in and landed on the saltmarsh pool out from Rimac. They tried to fish for a while and then obviously disappointed flew off west.

Nothing much along the Eau which was generally frozen up as was Manby Flashes with no birds at all when I got there at 3. Had a look in the book and the GW Egret was last recorded there on 18 Jan. Started peeling my orange and contemplating the ride home when a very large egret got up at the extreme left hand end of the flash. Got my bins on it and saw the yellow bill, it flew along the river for about 10 seconds and landed on the far side out of view.

So this bird has been around for at least 5 weeks and has only been reported 4 or 5 times.

Sorry you had a fruitless trip here last week but it seems that many others have similar results.

I only live a couple of miles from the LWT site at Kirkby on Bain and so I am usually there at least three or four times a week. The GWE was first spotted here on 30th November and so to-day
is the completion of its 10th week here. I have seen it now on quite a number of occasions (in fact recently I have seen it on the south western pits several times as I have driven by and have not stopped
for a closer view as this rare bird has become almost "common" to regular visitors to the site). Looking back over the last couple of months I can recall that several times I have been without a sighting
for about a week though sometimes it has been on view for several consecutive days.

I have assumed that the bird has been in this area since its arrival at the end of November until its sighting around mid-day to-day. Your report has made me wonder whether we are talking about the same bird! There have been periods when it has been "missing" from here when it was thought to have been on one of the other many lakes in the area - could it have taken a trip to Manby for a change? Even though it was seen here at around mid-day to-day surely such a magnificent bird could have flown from here to Manby in less than the three hours before you saw it this afternoon. Unless there are sightings of two birds in different places at the same time we will probably never know - as far as I know there have been no reports of any rings or identifying markings on "our" bird. It is quite a coincidence that two Great White Egrets should be relatively close to each other in Lincolnshire at the same time.

Hi Trevor

Thanks for the sympathy! I believe we are dealing with 2 birds here and having done a check on Birdguides and from the Manby log there were 4 dates this year when the bird was reported in the Manby area this year, 3 prior to today as follows:

2 Jan 9.35 , bird reported at Kirkby at 10.00

18 Jan 12.00, bird reported at Kirkby at 11.30

25 Jan pm, bird not reported at Kirkby

So on 2 out of 4 dates it definitely seems there were 2 birds, the 2 sites are 25 miles apart and it is most unlikely it could move from one site to another in 30 mins on 2 and 18 Jan.

Did anybody see the Kirkby Egret on the afternoon of 25 Jan and did anyone else see it this afternoon?

hi the egret was still there on the left side of the bank near the river about 10am today only about other 10 birds about in total mixed . tryed to walk up to it so i get a photo and fell on the snow after i got up i turn round whent back to my car to much of the harn stuff to keep to cold out . no i was knot driving the wife was after that john lusby

As the Kirkby Egret was reported on Birdguides at 9.20 this morning and I saw it at Kirkby at about 10.50 this morning, combined with Johns report at Manby today at 10, this would seem like certain evidence that there are indeed 2 separate birds.