Good news tempered by climate concerns

AST summer, great white and cattle egret bred our Besthorpe Nature Reserve last - the first ever records for the county.

- By ERIN MCDAID

It has recently been confirmed that they've bred again this year. This exciting news comes little over a decade since the reserve, which sits in Trent Vale, between the villages of Collingham & Besthorpe, became the first breeding site in Notts for little egrets back in 2023. To have all three species breeding birds at the reserve is a story of success - underlining nature’s resilience and adaptability. It also highlights the importance of protected nature reserves in supporting nature’s recovery.

However, delight at the birds’ success is tempered by the fact that until just a couple of decades ago you'd probably have had to travel to southern Europe to find a site where all three species were regularly rearing young. As naturalists it is always exciting to welcome new species, but the fact that they were once confined to much more southerly locations such as the Doñana National Park or the Camargue in southern France, serves as a reminder that changes in our climate are affecting wildlife. Some 20 years ago I remember excitedly watching egrets for the first time at a nature reserve on the Catalan Coast in Spain - now I can see them year-round here in the Trent Valley.