Cannibal frogs and white herons -

[Jardiniere]

Went on a walk yesterday and up on the causse in a clearing in the oak woods there was a small pond. At first we thought it was full of probably toads but on closer inspection it was full of dead toads all with wounds and in one case one was still being eaten by a smaller frog/toad. Very odd and offputting ...anybody know how /why something like this could happen? Didnt have my camera with me.
This morning however we noticed through the window a large white bird on the tree on the river where the cormorants normally hang out......we rushed down to the river with our binoculars but it flew away before we could get a proper sighting....we believe it was a white heron ...there were other grey herons about....but according to my bird book white herons dont get this far west...anybody know?

[Two_Sheds]

White egrets? We have them here, there used to be a few resident where I lived in Shoreham (W.Sussex) too

The little egret came to us from western France apparently - http://www.rspb.org.uk/wildlife/bird...ret/index.aspx

[rana]

It might be likely that the toads and frogs had been attacked by birds and renderred dead or wounded and what you observed was an opportunist amphibian having an easy lunch.

Little egrets and cattle egrets are spreading northwards and westwards in Europe.

[Capsid]

I was surprised to see a white egret in our back garden last weekend, so they have come as far north as the midlands.

[pauco]

Went on a walk yesterday and up on the causse in a clearing in the oak woods there was a small pond. At first we thought it was full of probably toads but on closer inspection it was full of dead toads all with wounds and in one case one was still being eaten by a smaller frog/toad. Very odd and offputting ...anybody know how /why something like this could happen? Didnt have my camera with me.
This morning however we noticed through the window a large white bird on the tree on the river where the cormorants normally hang out......we rushed down to the river with our binoculars but it flew away before we could get a proper sighting....we believe it was a white heron ...there were other grey herons about....but according to my bird book white herons dont get this far west...anybody know?

More than likely a Little Egret-Egretta garzetta.
Mostly migratory in Europe, winters in Africa Middle-East, some in S-Spain, and NW Europe.
Takes frogs, fish, snails, insects.

paul.

[grubby mitts]

when i was a kid, we had a garden pond with netting over it to stop the heron eating all the gold fish, a frog / toad got tangled up and died with the emerging tadpoles seemingly eating the corpse!!!
in west wales, we seem to have a small population of what i think are white egrets, quite a bit smaller than a heron