Heron, River Swale

Image: © Maigheach-gheal Taken: 17 Oct 2010

The grey heron, which is approximately 36 inches long, often stands among he reeds on one leg, with its eyes half closed and its head hunched between its shoulders. Then, suddenly, it will pounce on a fish, eel, mouse or a frog with its pick-axe of a bill. It flies with its head drawn back and its legs trailing, an awkward flight which makes it vulnerable in the air to the attacks of terns and rooks. They usually build their nests in tall trees in colonies, returning to the same heronry year after year. Others nest on sea cliffs or in reed beds. A dance ceremony precedes courtship, the male stretching its long neck up and then lowering it over its back with the yellow bill pointing upwards. About four eggs are laid between February and May. Incubation last 25 days and the young leave the nest after two months. Both parents feed the young. Here the bird stands on a rock in the River Swale waiting for its next meal to swim by.

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