Grey heron

The grey heron (Ardea cinerea) is the largest of the European herons. It is found throughout the year in most of western Europe (including the United Kingdom and Ireland) but only during the breeding season in eastern Europe and western Asia. Wintering areas include Spain and central Africa.

The grey heron measures 920 mm (36 inches) in total length. It has grey upper parts and a white head and neck. Adults have yellow bills and brown legs, but the bill of juvenile herons is dark brown. The head is distinguished by a broad black streak that runs from above the eye to the long crest on top of the head.

The flight of the grey heron is slow with strong beats of its broad rounded wings. The legs trail out behind and the head is drawn back between the shoulders.

The call is a harsh “fraaank” but various croaking sounds are added during the breeding season. When at the nest, adult and young birds sometimes communicate by clattering their bills together.

The grey heron feeds on fish, which it catches by thrusting its bill into the water having stood motionless at the water’s edge, often for quite a long time, while waiting for a fish to swim into range.

Grey herons usually nest in heronries that are used for many generations, often in tall trees near lakes or rivers. The nest is a large pile of sticks that comprises a flat-topped platform, sometimes as much as 40 metres off the ground. The nest is built by the female heron from material brought by the male.

Both partners incubate three or four eggs for up to 27 days before they hatch. The young will stay on the nest for up to 30 days, after which they start to clamber around the branches. They fledge at around 50 days and disperse from the heronry not long afterwards.

© John Welford