Snowy Egret

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Snowy Egret in the UK

An extreme vagrant from the Americas with a single British record. A first-winter was identified at Balvicar on Seil, Argyll, on 5 November 2001 and had probably been there since 30 October. It stayed in Scotland for about eleven months, moving between Argyll, Ayrshire, the Clyde Islands and Dumfries and Galloway, and was last seen on 17 September 2002. The record was accepted to Category A of the British List in 2003. There has been no other.

Where and when to see a Snowy Egret

There is no pattern to work from. The one bird used tidal pools, sheltered sea lochs, river mouths and even a sheep field on the west coast of Scotland. A second would most likely arrive in autumn after Atlantic gales and could be overlooked among Little Egrets, as the first nearly was. It was picked out from photographs. Check any egret on a western coast in late autumn that looks bright yellow in front of the eye.

Habitat, diet and field notes

Habitat: Coastal pools (very rare vagrant).
Diet: Fish.
Field note: Like Little Egret but yellow lores.

How to identify a Snowy Egret

Very like a Little Egret in size and shape: white, with a thin black bill and black legs. Look at the bare skin between bill and eye. On Snowy Egret it is bright yellow all year. On Little Egret it is usually grey or greenish. Young Snowy Egrets also show yellow running up the back of the legs, not just on the feet. Adults have a bushy crest of many short plumes, where Little Egret has two long ones.

Call and song

Mostly silent away from its breeding colonies. When disturbed or squabbling over food it may give a low, rasping croak, much like a Little Egret. Heard something you cannot place? Bird Hear identifies UK birds from a 10 second recording, free in your browser.

Confusion species

• Little Egret: Little Egret has grey or greenish skin in front of the eye for most of the year, and yellow confined to the feet.
• Cattle Egret: Cattle Egret is stockier and shorter-necked with a short yellow bill and feeds mostly in dry fields among livestock.
• Great White Egret: Great White Egret is the size of a Grey Heron with a long kinked neck, a dagger bill that is yellow outside the breeding season, and dark feet.

Related guide Rare birds in the UK.

Conservation status and Birdedex points

In the Birdedex the Snowy Egret is a Legendary tier bird, worth +50 points when you log one. It is not on the Red or Amber lists in Birds of Conservation Concern 5.

Recent UK sightings

Similar birds

• Western Reef HeronLegendary · Estuaries (very rare)
• Little EgretUncommon · Estuaries
• Black-faced BuntingLegendary · Coastal scrub (very rare vagrant)
• Brown FlycatcherLegendary · Coastal scrub (very rare vagrant)
• Cream-coloured CourserLegendary · Coastal dunes (very rare vagrant)
• Greater YellowlegsLegendary · Pools (very rare vagrant)

Snowy Egret: quick answers

Has a Snowy Egret ever been seen in the UK?

Once. A young bird arrived in Argyll in autumn 2001 and stayed in western Scotland until September 2002, visiting several counties. Hundreds of birders travelled to see it. It remains the only British record.

What is the difference between a Snowy Egret and a Little Egret?

Both have black legs and yellow feet, so the feet alone prove nothing. The reliable mark is the patch of bare skin in front of the eye: clear yellow on Snowy, duller grey-green on Little. Leg colour on young birds and crest shape on adults back it up. Good photographs are needed for a claim.

Where can I see a Snowy Egret in the UK?

You cannot plan for one. With a single record in more than two centuries of British birdwatching, it is among the least likely species on the list. The egrets you see on British estuaries are Little Egrets, now common in the south and spreading north.

Kit that helps

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