‘It feels like a sign’: joy at rise in cattle egrets on wildlife-friendly UK farms

Farmers who have taken regenerative approach hail birds as indication of ecosystem health

Almost as soon as Johnny Haimes took up regenerative farming - replacing arable fields with herb-rich pasture so cattle could graze outside all year round - a distinctive white bird appeared on his pasture.

Numbers of cattle egrets are booming in Britain, boosted by wildlife-friendly farming where cows are grazed on gentle rotations designed to improve soil quality and boost invertebrate populations.