Rain and strong wind battered my house on Thursday 18 February so it seemed sensible to call off a planned lockdown walk. Yet I still experienced a memorable wildlife moment.
Glancing from a bedroom window pockmarked with raindrops I glimpsed a huge white blob flying behind houses opposite. I aimed my binoculars towards a gap between houses where the bird should emerge. It did. Instantly I knew what it was but a little voice in the back of my head kept saying: “Can’t be.”
As the blob lumbered slowly out of sight I grabbed my newest bird identification guide to check the details. Page 81 of the RSPB Handbook of British Birds provided confirmation. Long legs conspicuously showing at the back in flight. Check. Slow flight with deep, deliberate wingbeats. Check. Large dagger-like YELLOW bill. Check. A great white egret ! These scarce, grey heron-sized heavyweights are usually seen at estuaries and marshes not flying past houses in a greater London street.
Wild Things Column: The Big Garden Birdwatch
Picture courtesy of Bloomsbury Publishing
Next day the bird performed for an appreciative audience in Lamorbey Park, Sidcup, where it caught what looked like a frog or toad. For the next few days the egret commuted between Lamorbey’s lakes and a golf course pond.
Having a source like the RSPB Handbook available to confirm or demolish ID of an unusual bird is essential. This is an excellent guide to more than 300 bird species seen in Britain but its true strength lies in the information on each. If you want to know how many eggs blue tits lay(8 to 10), the average lifespan of your garden robin(two years) or the weight of a chaffinch(24g) then nuggets like these appear in fact-panels for every species. Few other guides feature such a depth of information. Distribution maps and details on habitat, food, migration, habits, voice and breeding are also supplied for each bird.
Wild Things Column: The tales behind Britain's birds
Picture by Bernie Weight
Sadly, the flimsy cover of this fifth edition creases and folds easily when removed and returned to coat pockets in the field. Note to publishers; please restore the strong, laminated, double-cover of the third edition in future re-prints.
The RSPB Handbook of British Birds by Peter Holden and Richard Gregory is published by Bloomsbury price £12.99.
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