UK first: ‘rare’ western reef heron draws 300 birdwatchers to Caernarfon

Caernarfon, North Wales: Hundreds of twitchers from across the UK are flocking to a seaside town in north Wales to see a “rare” heron.

Ornithologist Simon Hugheston-Roberts spotted the western reef heron – more commonly found in southern Europe, Africa and parts of Asia – at Y Foryd in Caernarfon at 10:00 BST on Saturday. After confirming the grey-blue bird, he alerted a birdwatching WhatsApp group and by the afternoon about 300 ornithologists had arrived hoping to catch sight of the Egretta gularis.

Naturalist and broadcaster Iolo Williams said it was a UK first, adding that warm, fairly strong southern winds may have blown the heron out to sea where it “got lost and was carried here”.

Hugheston-Roberts, who has decades of birdwatching experience and conducts monthly bird counts at Y Foryd, said he was on his usual walk when he “was lucky to see a small dark heron flying over me on the shore”. “After getting a better look I thought this is a rare thing,” he told BBC Cymru Fyw.

He identified it by ruling out similar species. Dark variants of little egrets are very rare and North American little blue herons have subtly different features. “A little egret joined the western reef heron so I was able to compare and contrast the size and structure of the two herons side by side to confirm,” he said. “I had a gut feeling that it was a western reef heron. They are very impressive.”

Since the sighting, the bird has been seen feeding in the harbour near Cei Llechi, roosting in trees by Aber Bridge, flying over fields at Morfa Dinlle, and passing above Caernarfon Castle. Birdwatchers, photographers and artists have converged on the town.

Ornithologist and artist Richard Partis tracked the heron for almost 12 hours near the Anglesey Wall on Sunday. “For some people, birdwatching is almost a full-time job,” he said. He sketched the bird as it moved between harbour, woods and fields. “Everyone has been very respectful and kept their distance so as not to disturb the bird.”

Williams, filming Springwatch on a wildlife cruise when he heard the news, called it a “smart bird, all over its body is a lovely grey-blue”. He said the popularity was unsurprising “because this is the first ever recording in Britain for this bird”. Though the sighting came after Wales recorded its hottest May day on record, he does not link it to climate change.