Cattle Egret arrival dates, Hamilton, Victoria

["Steve Clark" <>]

G'day all

Our house overlooks the Grange Burn which winds through Hamilton (sw 
Victoria).  Each year I record the arrival dates of Cattle Egrets and 
with 10 years of data I thought it might be of interest to someone.  
The earliest arrival was 18 March 1993, the latest was 19 April 
1986 and the average (median?) would be 31 March.  This year the 
first bird arrived yesterday (9 April).

The numbers typically build up from a few to ~100 by the end of 
winter.  It's a beautiful sight of an evening when the flock fly over 
our house on their way to their roost.

I'm not sure but I believe 1986 was the first year they came.  I've never seen
colour banded birds so I guess this group doesn't come from Shortlands. 
Would they come from the Murray swamps?

Cheers


Steve Clark