An man has managed to capture on camera a “very rare” bird sitting on the back of a pig at an Angus farm.
Auchmithie resident Mark Caunt spotted the cattle egret near Froickheim on Tuesday morning.
The cattle egret is usually found in warm temperatures, and while sightings are growing in England, experts say it remains unusual to see them north of the border.
This is by far the rarest thing that has been seen there
Birdwatcher Mark Caunt
Mark, 48 – a member of Angus Birding – said: “Where I take my kid to school, I pass this pig farm every day, so I check it quite regularly for birds.
“It’s turned up a few uncommon things but this is by far the rarest thing that has been seen there.
“I’ve seen cattle egrets abroad, you get them in Cyprus, other parts of Europe and eastern Asia, so I knew what it was when I saw it.
“But I was very surprised obviously, because I’ve not seen one in Angus before.”
Mark gained an interest in birdwatching when he was young and has been taking photographs of animals in his own time, and professionally, for about 15 years.
‘First sighting in 42 years’
He claims this is only the second time that a cattle egret has been recorded by a birdwatcher Angus, with the first happening 42 years ago.
He said: “This is probably the rarest thing that we’ve had locally for a while.
“It was satisfying, it was nice to see it so well in the sunlight and get some pictures of it because bird photography is something that I really enjoy doing.
It remains a very rare bird in Scotland, but it is likely to become more frequent in light of its increasing numbers in England
British Trust for Ornithology
“It’s quite interesting to see it on the back of pigs as well, quite often they’re on the back of cows and things in the likes of Africa, so seeing it on pigs it quite unusual.
“I was the first person to find it. I quickly nipped home, grabbed my camera gear and I distributed the news to other birdwatchers after about half an hour so they could see as well.
“Quite a few birdwatchers turned up during the day to try and see it, there were a few that managed to get photographs.”
Species for birdwatchers to ‘have on their radar’
Paul Stancliffe, ornithologist at British Trust for Ornithology, said: “The cattle egret is becoming a much more common bird in England and flocks of two and three figures are being seen.
“However, it remains a very rare bird in Scotland, but it is likely to become more frequent in light of its increasing numbers in England.
“Since the first Scottish record in 1979 there have been around a dozen cattle egrets found in Scotland, with five being reported in the last month – three together on Shetland and one each for Angus and Highland.
“This is definitely a species for Scottish birdwatchers to have on their radar.”
