Species of the week: grey heron

For the latest in our weekly focus on one of the 70 species to spot at Minsmere, I've selected one of our most familiar species, yet one that is all too often overlooked by birdwatchers in favour of its scarcer cousins. While almost everyone who sees a bitterns shares in the excitement of the sighting, and little egrets can easily wow families and beginners, grey herons can easily be passed over as "just" a heron.

This, of course, is grossly unfair on grey herons. Not only are they beautiful birds in their own right, easily identifiable even at some distance due to their size, but they are also master tacticians when it comes to fishing. Few birds can match the grey heron for patience and stealth as they stand and wait for an unsuspecting fish to swim within striking distance. Then their lightning reflexes and unerring accuracy invariably result in a tasty fish supper (or lunch, breakfast or elevenses)!

As their name suggests, the basic plumage of the grey heron is grey above, and white below, but that's a bit too simplistic to do them justice. Look carefully and you'll see that the long plumes on the wing-coverts are paler than the surrounding feathers, as seen int he photo above, and they have long wispy black plumes down their breast and a wispy black crown. The dagger-like bill is bright yellow, and they have long orange legs.

Grey heron with successful catch by Rob Munro

Fish form the bulk of a grey heron's diet and are usually swallowed whole, head first to avoid the scales getting stuck in the gullet. But fish are certainly not their only food items, as they'll readily take whatever else they can catch - frogs, small mammals, large insects and even waterbirds.

Grey herons are common and widespread and can be found in a wide variety of wetland habitats including farmland. They usually nest in huge stick nests high up in trees. Although they don't breed on the reserve, they can be seen throughout the year at Minsmere, often feeding close to the hides.

As you'll have read in my last blog, grey herons, bitterns and little egrets have all been regular at Island Mere and Bittern Hide, as have otters, kingfishers and cormorants, so there are clearly lots of fish in the reedbed pools. The're not the only wildlife that can be seen in the reedbed though. Marsh harriers perch in low bushes or quarter over the reeds looking for small mammals. Kestrels and sparrowhawks are regular, and there have been a couple of recent reports of merlins in the reedbed too.

Up to eight Bewick's swans and five whooper swans have been commuting between the Scrape, Island Mere and nearby fields. A drake pochard and drake tufted duck were among the large flocks of ducks on the Scrape today, with 13 avocets remaining, along with several black-tailed godwits, redshanks and snipe.

A walk along the dunes should produce sightings of linnets and greenfinches feeding along the tideline or stonechats in the gorse. The latter are still accompanied by at least one Dartford warbler. Offshore, with a bit of patience (and preferably the aid of a telescope) you may spot red-throated divers, great crested grebes, common scoters or gannets. An eider was seen today, while little auk and great northern diver were both seen late last week too.

Why not come along and enjoy a pre-Christmas stroll. It beats a trip to the High Street hands down!