A “record number” of egrets have been recorded at a West Yorkshire nature reserve, with one species successfully breeding for the first time in the site’s history.

At Fairburn Ings, near Castleford, cattle egret bred for the first known time in Yorkshire last year, the RSPB said, fledging three young.

Lydia Tague, reserve manager, said the spread of these “once-rare visitors” marked a major shift in the region’s birdlife.