Great White Egret (Ardea alba)
Key Details
| Taxonomic Groups: | Vertebrate > bird > Bird |
| Red List Status: | Vulnerable (Non-breeding) / Endangered (Breeding) [VU(nbr) EN(br)] |
| D5 Status: | Included in the baseline Red List Index for England (Wilkins, Wilson & Brown, 2022) |
| Section 41 Status: | (not listed) |
| Taxa Included Synonym: | (none) |
| UKSI Recommended Name: | Ardea alba |
| UKSI Recommended Authority: | Linnaeus, 1758 |
| UKSI Recommended Qualifier: | (none specified) |
| Red List Citation: | Stanbury et al., 2021 |
| Notes on taxonomy/listing: | (none) |
Criteria
| Question 1: | Does species need conservation or recovery in England? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | Rapid colonisation ongoing. Eng WeBS trends (10 yr +2400%) |
| Question 2: | Does recovery/ conservation depend on species-specific actions? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | Very small number of colonies. Highly susceptible to disturbance/interference. Requires targeted wetland management. |
| Question 3: | At a landscape scale, would the species benefit from untargeted habitat management to increase habitat mosaics, structural diversity, or particular successional stages? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | Habitat mosaics in large wetlands. |
Species Assessment
| Current step on the Species Recovery Curve (SRC): | 8. Species recovering |
| Recovery potential/expectation: | Medium-high |
| National Monitoring Resource: | Opportunistic - sufficient |
| Species Comments: |
Key Actions
Key Action 1
Proposed Action: Nest and colony protection (preventing disturbance and egg collecting) to support the establishment of the England population.
Action targets: 8. Species recovering
Action type: Special (in situ) measure
Duration: 3-5 years
Scale of Implementation: ≤ 20 sites
High priority sites: Somerset Levels, Fens, Norfolk Broads, North Norfolk Coast
Comments:
Key Action 2
Proposed Action: Habitat management to create safe nesting habitat.
Action targets: 7. Best approach adopted at appropriate scales
Action type: Habitat management
Duration: 3-5 years
Scale of Implementation: ≤ 20 sites
High priority sites: Somerset Levels, Fens, Norfolk Broads, North Norfolk Coast
Comments:
Key Action 3
Proposed Action: Habitat management to ensure food-rich feeding areas.
Action targets: 7. Best approach adopted at appropriate scales
Action type: Habitat management
Duration: 3-5 years
Scale of Implementation: ≤ 20 sites
High priority sites: Somerset Levels, Fens, Norfolk Broads, North Norfolk Coast
Comments:
Acknowledgment:
Data used on this website are adapted from Threatened species recovery actions 2025 baseline (JP065): Technical report and spreadsheet user guide (Natural England, 2025). Available here.