EXOTIC marshbirds from Southern Europe are heading for the North-East, according to experts.

Birds including the cattle egret, great white egret, night heron and purple heron could settle in the region's wetlands, according to Dr Malcolm Ogilvie secretary of the Rare Breeding Birds Panel.

The trend has already started with the little egret, which started nesting in southern England in 1996, being spotted in the region.

The birds have been seen in Tynemouth, Whitley Bay, Hartlepool and Port Clarence this year.

In late June, a great white egret, rarely seen in the UK, flew on to the marshes by the Tees estuary and is still there.

Dr Ogilvie said: "The little egret, which was virtually unknown in Britain 50 years ago, has recently become an established breeding species and it is logical to anticipate others could follow suit.

"Many wetland bird species declined in Britain over several hundred years due to drainage of marshes and persecution through hunting and collecting, but during the 1900s that situation changed significantly.

"Now prospects are good because at a time when populations of several species which have not nested here before are expanding in Europe, projects to create more habitats for them are also in progress."

There are plans to create 1,200 acres of reedbeds by 2010 to house the birds coming to area.