Herons

[Mandybstorm]

This may be a daft question but we are on the broads at the moment and haven't seen a single heron. Where are they all?

[bigbream]

They know the fishing season is closed they will be back in june :naughty:

[BroadScot]

Nesting?

 

 

Iain

[marshman]

Iain - you are right of course!!

 

Herons are one of our earlier nesting birds and will be right in the middle of brooding. Eggs take up to 28 days to hatch and my guess is the birds will become very evident when they are feeding their young.  

[Broads01]

I think it's luck of the draw as to whether you see one. Been boating since Saturday and I think we're up to 3 so far.

[ChrisB]

Although Herons are solitary birds they breed mostly socially in Heronries which are usually well removed from human activity.

[NonTecky]

I saw this one last Thursday....

[ranworthbreeze]

We were lucky a few years ago whilst mud weighting on the edge of South Walsham broad to see an heron teaching one of its brood how to fish, we watched it for a long time but the heron was off as soon as we moved to get the camera.

 

Regards

Alan

[Timbo]

Has anyone else noticed that if heron's are away from their normal fishing spots along the river frontage in Horning & Wroxham they put up plastic replicas of themselves so as not to disappoint the tourists?

[BroadScot]

Has anyone else noticed that if heron's are away from their normal fishing spots along the river frontage in Horning & Wroxham they put up plastic replicas of themselves so as not to disappoint the tourists?

A man of many talents Tim,   where do you find the time to stick all these replicas around Broadland

 

 

Iain

[GeoffandWendy]

Give them a few weeks and you should see them about. At the moment they are nesting. We have a large heronry at our local bird reserve, Middleton Lakes, just a mile or so from where we live. We were up there yesterday and of the twenty or so nesting pairs, most of them were sitting on the eggs, viewing with my binoculars. They nest in colonies on lage platfoms nests made of twigs, at the top of large trees, away from predators. Once the eggs hatch, the herons will start fishing and getting the young fattened up ready for fledging. By the end of April, they should be out in force again. 

[ExSurveyor]

They are all south near Brundall. We have a nest just opposite us a he one 100yds down river.

Edited April 6, 2015 by BroadScot
Two duplicates removed :-)

[Mandybstorm]

Seen five or six today! We have the in laws with us and had told them herons were ten a penny down here, then sods law they have all disappeared!

[ExMemberBobdog]

Travelled from How Hill to Hickling today and lost count of the number of herons I saw - mostly in flight.  Bit annoyed by the one that flew across my bows and sh*t on my foredeck though!

[BroadScot]

Travelled from How Hill to Hickling today and lost count of the number of herons I saw - mostly in flight.  Bit annoyed by the one that flew across my bows and sh*t on my foredeck though!

Could be lucky Bob, buy a lottery ticket for tomorrow night!

 

 

Iain

[Boaters]

At How Hill today with the Grandkids and as a heron flew by our Five year old called out " there's a Harnser " He knows more about Coot Club than some people many times his age ,sometimes we have a fun quiz with him and he gets most of them correct ,he must have watched the DVD ten times ,he loves it and the Broads .

[mbird]

Yes, still plenty of Herons around Brundall at the weekend! Also saw Kingsishers and Eagrets near Bramerton and a lovely Barn Owl that seems to live in the shed on the New Cut nearest the Reedham end.