According to the nature conservation association LBV, cattle egrets have bred in Germany for the first time – on the Altmühlsee in Middle Franconia. The heron species is very rare in this country, said the expert from the State Association for Bird Protection (LBV) Jan Heikens on Thursday. An active member of the LBV district group at Altmühlsee discovered and photographed the young birds at the end of July.
The LBV spoke of a sensation. “It’s always impressive when a new species of bird breeds here for the first time,” said Heikens. This is motivating, especially in times when more and more plants and animals are becoming extinct.
According to the LBV, the cattle egret, which is about 50 centimeters tall, occurs worldwide, in Europe especially in Spain. In Africa, the white bird with the yellow beak can often be seen sitting on the back of buffalo. It feeds on insects, which it usually finds in herds of cattle or in meadows after mowing.
According to Heikens, the specimens at Lake Altmühlsee probably come from the Mediterranean region because cattle egrets only travel short distances. In Spain and France, their populations would increase, so the breeding regions would probably expand. This could also be related to global warming, explained Heikens. Because the winters would be milder, cattle egrets could also overwinter in France, for example. As a result, they could spread to areas that were previously not so suitable.
So far there have only been breeding attempts by cattle egrets in Germany, which escaped from zoos or private keeping, said Heikens. Even with the specimens at Altmühlsee, one cannot be 100 percent sure that they are not birds that have escaped from captivity. “Nevertheless, due to the distance to the nearest colony, natural settlement is quite likely.”