Very rare visitor.

One record: a juvenile spent about four hours perched in a tree of a Fishers Green garden on 12 August 1994.

Very rare visitor

An increasing visitor to Britain from the continent, that has bred. The first one seen in Hertfordshire was at Wilstone Reservoir, Tring on 28 April 2001.

Four records: two flying over a Great Ashby Garden on 19 June 2020, one flying over an Old Town Garden on 20 November 2022, single birds flying over Fairlands Valley Lakes on 3 December 2023 and one flying over Fairlands Farmhouse on 1 September 2024.

Increasing visitor.

Little Egrets are recent colonisers of Britain. Prior to 1985 there had only been two records from Hertfordshire, since 1994 they have been recorded annually, and in 2011 bred for the first time in the County.

The first record for Stevenage was of one, flying north over Fairlands Way on 25 November 2006.

There were three further records prior to 2010; one flew through Fairlands Valley Lakes on 10 August 2007, one over Bragbury End on 20 March 2009 and one at Fairlands Valley Lakes on 6 July 2009.

Between 2010 and 2019 they were recorded from: Aston Allotments (one flew over on 3 November 2015); Aston Brook (9 December 2012, 18 December 2018 and, 11 November 2019); Aston End (4 January 2015); Fairlands Valley Lakes (5 February 2012, 15 to 22 July 2012 and, 1 January 2019); Golf Course, Bragbury End (15 February 2010); Gresley Way (9 December 2012); Norton Green Tip (27 December 2018); Old Town (one on flooded School Playing Fields on 17 July 2015); River Beane, Aston (1 December 2015 and, 15 November 2016); Six Hills Way (2 flying over on 19 March 2015); Stevenage Brook (5, 6 and 12 January 2010 and, 1 December 2014). 

Since 2020 with a significant increase in records, there have been records from Fairlands Valley Lakes for every month of the year and they are seen regularly along the Aston Brook at Gresley Way.

Other records are from: Aston (21 March 2025); Brookfield Farm, Aston End (four on 8 February 2026), Golf Course (11 March 2020 and 4 May 2024); Magpie Crescent (one flying over on 11 December 2022); Monks Wood/Whomerley Wood (2 January 2026); Norton Green Tip (7 July 2020 and 7 May 2024); Ridlins Mire (one on 12 January 2024); Ridlins Water Meadow (9 and 16 March 2020 and, 2 April 2020); Ridlins Wood: one on 3 April 2023; St George’s Way (one flying south 26 January 2025); Shackledell (13 December 2024 and 24 February 2025); Town Centre Gardens (20 and 26 June 2024); one flying north over Stevenage on 1 April 2020; one over a Stevenage Garden on 21 May 2020.

The most seen together are the four at Brookfield Farm on 8 February 2026.

Common non-breeding visitor.

Common visitors at all times of the year to Fairlands Valley Lakes (from where they were first recorded in April 1975) and at any of Stevenage’s ponds and ditches. They are also known to raid garden fishponds.

Grey Herons suffer in hard winters and during the winter of 1962/63 the British Breeding population was halved, during that winter the remains of one was found by a pond at Symonds Green.

The most seen together are four at Fairlands Valley Lakes on 6 July 2009.

The 2012 Winter Atlas recorded their presence from six of the tetrads covering Stevenage.