Herons are quite frequently seen at UEA, unmistakeable in flight, I can't think of a UK bird with deeper wings, meaning leading edge to back edge, there are I'm sure birds with a wider wingspan, Golden Eagles and Buzzards I expect, but the wings of large birds of prey do not appear as deep as a Heron's, once seen you can't really mistake it for anything else at UEA. It always has its long neck tucked back in flight. time for a stock photo I think, easier than boring you with my poor descriptive prose.
There you go, now you can see what I mean. These are Grey Heron Ardea cineria at UEA, and it's the most common Ardea sp in Britain. but we do get egrets here too, which are also a type of heron and all in the Ardeidae family, along with most Bitterns. and when you look at bitterns and egrets you notice how similar they all are, all fishing birds, with longish legs and longish necks and always long stabbing beaks, that strike and ambush fish and amphibians in water.
But they are not limited to water creatures, they will supplement their diet with pretty much anything that moves or squeaks, squawbs from other bird's nests, mice, dragonflies, other birds if they are small enough to swallow, snakes, spiders and beetles.
Typical hunting poses below.
Grey heron Bittern
In the UK the grey heron is resident all year round, but in colder regions it migrates south in Autumn. They lay 3 - 5 eggs and both parents take turns in feeding the chicks. They nest in tress, high up and often in groups as rooks do in 'rookeries', and obviously enough these heron breeding sites are called 'Heronries' (RSPB 2020)
I've seen them on the chicken wire island in the centre of the lake, unmistakeable because they are the tallest bird there, standing up to a meter tall, more commonly I see them around the lake edge, sometimes lurching slowly in the shallows, looking intently through the surface water. Quite often they can be seen around the lake standing stock still reading to strike.
RSPB (2020) Grey Heron Bird Facts. Available at: https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/grey-heron/ (Accessed on: 06/02/2020)
But they are not limited to water creatures, they will supplement their diet with pretty much anything that moves or squeaks, squawbs from other bird's nests, mice, dragonflies, other birds if they are small enough to swallow, snakes, spiders and beetles.
Typical hunting poses below.
Grey heron Bittern
In the UK the grey heron is resident all year round, but in colder regions it migrates south in Autumn. They lay 3 - 5 eggs and both parents take turns in feeding the chicks. They nest in tress, high up and often in groups as rooks do in 'rookeries', and obviously enough these heron breeding sites are called 'Heronries' (RSPB 2020)
I've seen them on the chicken wire island in the centre of the lake, unmistakeable because they are the tallest bird there, standing up to a meter tall, more commonly I see them around the lake edge, sometimes lurching slowly in the shallows, looking intently through the surface water. Quite often they can be seen around the lake standing stock still reading to strike.
RSPB (2020) Grey Heron Bird Facts. Available at: https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/grey-heron/ (Accessed on: 06/02/2020)
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