Little Egret – foraging/fishing technique

“These posts show one of the many methods used by the Little Egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta) (some in breeding plumage) to foraging for fish.

“The technique here was to wait patiently by the shallow end of a fish farming pond to pick out smaller fish.

“They had a fairly high success rate at noon. I wonder if the shadow cast by the body encouraged fish to swim nearer enabling capture? The water here is very clear and they can see fish easily. There was very little competitive feeding.

“I am of course concerned that the farmers here would view these birds as pests and have seen them take negative action. “Martínez-Vilalta, A., Motis, A., Christie, D.A. & Kirwan, G.M. (2016). Little Egret (Egretta garzetta). Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive states that “Birds visiting commercial fish farms to feed, often viewed as pest by owners, in fact are largely beneficial because they feed on uncontrolled fish fry, as well as unhealthy fish and stocked fish fry predators”.

Video of activity here:

Dato’ Dr Amar-Singh HSS
Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia
15th November 2016

Location: Malim Nawar, Perak, Malaysia
Habitat: Ex-mining pools, fish farming, wetlands