Those egrets are lovely aren’t they. Ten years ago they were rare in the UK (Egretta garzetta, I think you have the close cousin in the US, Egretta thula). I wasn’t quite sure what it was when I saw the first one but they’re quite distinctive - fantastically white and a bit like an owl in flight - and ridiculously yellow legs! I work on the canal and they’re permanent fixtures here now - global warming?. The herons haven’t found my garden pond fortunately - sorry about your fish. One of my favourite birds is the cormorant - do you get those? Not popular with the fishermen but they’re a smart bird.

Thanks for the link to my blog (The Plot Thickens). I’m flattered that you’d find what I have to say interesting. It’s a gray time in the UK for the next couple of months so there’s not much to write about in the garden right now.

Cheers, Simon