The Grey Heron

On a brisk but pleasantly sunny mid-February walk around the UEA campus with a few of my colleagues, we had quite the surprise! We were wandering past the Shetland ponies and up onto the boardwalk by the river, when I suddenly became aware of a large Grey Heron just standing in the water at the side of the river near the bank closest to us. I thought that it would have flown away as soon as it realised us, however it did quite the opposite; it simply stood calmly in the gently flowing water, minding it's own business. This gave us the opportunity to get some wonderful close-up photos of this stunning bird, without even disturbing it.

                                  

Spot the beautiful Grey Heron - these photos taken on 13/02/17.

Class - Aves

Order - Pelecaniformes

Family - Ardeidae

Genus - Ardea

Species - A. cinerea

The Grey Heron can be found throughout temperate regions of Europe, the Middle-east and Asia, with some even being reported in Africa. Its northernmost range terminates in the north of Norway and Sweden. The grey heron is a predatory wading bird, and with its long legs adapted for wading, and long, sharp beak adapted for spearing fish in shallow streams, the grey heron may be found inhabiting wetland areas around lakes, rivers, ponds, marshes and fenland. A point of interest is that herons have a fairly ancient lineage, with the first fossilised relatives of the heron appearing in the Palaeogene period.

Grey herons stand up to a metre in height, with adults weighing between 1-2kg. They have a mostly grey back and grey wings with black edges, and a white underbelly with a long white neck. They also have a stark black stripe across their heads (referred to as a "supercilium"), from just behind their eyes to the back of their heads, and they look almost menacing with their bright red/orange eyes, and orange beak. The oldest recorded age of a Grey Heron was 23 years of age, however most wild herons will only live on average 5 years.

Grey herons fly with their necks retracted into an "S" shape, which is a contrasting feature to the storks, cranes and spoonbills, which fly with their necks elongated. These birds fly relatively slowly, with big but slow wing beats, and they often glide or soar short distances. They will eat anything from fish, small mammals and reptiles, to amphibians and insects. They hunt by standing quietly and motionless in a stream or area of water, and will wait for their unassuming prey to swim by within striking distance. Hunting periods usually occur at early dawn or dusk, however they may hunt throughout the day. Herons often swallow their prey whole, with the exception of eels or larger mammals, which they may tear apart before swallowing chunks, but they will regurgitate pellets of indigestible material (ie; bone and fur).

Grey herons tend to breed in colonies known as "Heronries", and they build their nests at the top of high trees close to wetland habitats, but they may also choose to nest in brambles, reed-beds and on cliff ledges. The same nest will be returned to each year by the breeding pair. These herons usually breed between February-June, and they will lay 3-5 eggs. The incubation period lasts around 25 days, and hatched chicks will fledge the nest at 7-8 weeks.

These birds are not considered to be under threat (they are listed as "Least concern" by the IUCN), and they adapt well to urban life. In fact, in the Netherlands, the Grey heron has established a large and stable population in many urban habitats, including in the capital, Amsterdam. They have however become a bit of a pest! This is because these herons will raid street markets and open-air bars/cafes for scraps of food, suggesting that they are adapting to a scavenging lifestyle. Grey herons are also rather partial to ornamental fish held in garden ponds, and will take an easy meal if they can get one! As a result, they are not the most popular of birds with gardeners, or those that have garden ponds with prized ornamental fish. My grandparents used to have a problem with a grey heron visiting their fish pond, to the extent that they didn't know if they had any fish left in their pond. In their efforts to prevent the heron reaching their fish, they constructed a large net over the top of the pond, and used large reflective disks to deter the bird from landing. And it did work, showing that a little human ingenuity and patience can solve problems created by nature.

A brief history of Grey Herons in human culture;

• Ancient Rome - the heron was a bird of Divination (the process of gaining an insight into a circumstance or event using a ritual) that gave an augury. An augury is an ancient Roman practice of reading omens from the flight patterns of birds.
• Ancient Egypt - artwork depicting a heron in the New Kingdom era represented the bird deity Bennu. Bennu represented the sun, rebirth and creation.
• The English surnames "Earnshaw", "Hernshaw", "Herne" and "Heron" are derived from the word Heron, and "shaw" refers to a word meaning wood, referencing a heron's nest.