Cattle Egret, Whangaehu Beach Rd

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jimmifinn
Posts: 49
Joined: Sat Nov 21, 2020 11:40 am

Re: Cattle Egret, Whangaehu Beach Rd

Postby jimmifinn » Tue Apr 30, 2024 10:16 pm

2024-04-30 Cattle Egret Whangaehu Beach Road 5Z9A8157.JPG
One of the two Cattle Egrets with the cows on Whangaehu Beach Road, 30 April 2024
2024-04-30 Cattle Egret Whangaehu Beach Road 5Z9A8157.JPG (448.09 KiB) Viewed 86 times
This afternoon my wife and I drove down Whangaehu Beach Road, checking for any sign of Cattle Egrets. A group regularly winter on Dairy Farm with the Fonterra number 44011 and usually arrive mid-May.

We found two egrets with some cows, distant from the road. Later they moved to join three White-faced Herons at a water trough but were extremely wary and quickly seemed to realise we were watching them from the road. Eventually they moved away to a more distant paddock.

Last winter before they returned, presumably to Australia, there were 11 egrets associating with the cows on this farm. 30 April is earlier than I have seen them arrive in previous winters.

Jim Norris
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