Observation of a Little Egret of Urdaibai in Canary Islands

-URDAIBAI RESERVE- The November 8, Godfried Schreur observed and photographed in Tenerife a Little Egret that carried a yellow ring with the CC code. This individual, wich was born in Spring of 2017, is part of the nearly four hundred chickens ringed on the island of Izaro (Udaibai Biosphere Reserve) since this species began to nest there in the early nineties.

In an investigation* made from the observations of ringed birds in the colonies of Izaro (Urdaibai) and San Pedro (Santoña) was concluded that the small population of Egrets that nest on the Cantabrian coast is quite sedentary. Few individuals move more than 50 km.

Until now, the furthest observation of ringed individuals of Izaroans San Pedro was observed in O Grove (Galicia), about 515 km away. Therefore, the observation of Canary Islands two thousands kilometers away from the birthplace, is an extraordinary news.

*Galarza, A., Arce, F., Navedo, J.G. &Arizaga, J. 2016. Dispersal of Little egretts (Egretta garzetta) from Northern Spanish Atlantic colonies. Ardeola, 63(2): 375-382