What happened in this Energy story?

Thirteen great egrets were spotted hunting voles in a burnt Cambridgeshire field during a summer of drought, underscoring both the species' remarkable comeback in Britain and the success of the 3,000-hectare Ouse Fen wetland restoration.

What is a key fact in this story? (1)

**Great egrets** were spotted hunting voles across a parched field of dead thistles in the Cambridgeshire fens, 13 of the freshwater-marsh birds sighted far from their usual wetland habitat during summer drought

What is a key fact in this story? (2)

The species was driven to **the edge of extinction** by the Victorian trade in feathers for haute couture, then recovered across Europe and colonised UK shores at the start of the 21st century, with first confirmed breeding in **2010**

Great Egrets Recover in British Fens After Near-Extinction — SkimNews

By The Guardian Environment · Summarized & edited by Kapil Samant · 2026-10-20

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Great egrets were spotted hunting voles across a parched field of dead thistles in the Cambridgeshire fens, 13 of the freshwater-marsh birds sighted far from their usual wetland habitat during summer drought
The species was driven to the edge of extinction by the Victorian trade in feathers for haute couture, then recovered across Europe and colonised UK shores at the start of the 21st century, with first confirmed breeding in 2010
The UK population grew to 24 nesting pairs by 2019, with winter totals potentially reaching four figures according to the diary entry
Ouse Fen is being converted from low-quality agricultural land into a 3,000-hectare (7,410-acre) wetland through an innovative partnership between a gravel-extraction business and the RSPB
The site already supports water voles, bitterns, spined loaches and marsh harriers, while archaeological work elsewhere on the site uncovered Neolithic-era bone remains of beavers and dalmatian pelicans

Why it matters: Great egrets were nearly wiped out for Victorian millinery and only began breeding in Britain in 2010, so the species' expansion to 24 nesting pairs by 2019 marks a genuine conservation turnaround, while the Ouse Fen partnership shows commercial gravel extraction can be rewilded into 3,000 hectares of prime wetland habitat within a single generation.