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Psilos Bird Photography |
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea) |
A resident and widespread bird this is
the largest of all the european herons. They can be
found anywhere there is both fresh or salt water, though is found breeding
colonially beside freshwater. When not breeding it is a solitary bird
though it can be seen feeding or sat close by other herons. They have
a wingspan of almost 2 metres and eat a diet almost exclusively of fish. |
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Of all the positions adopted by the Grey
Heron I think the one below is the strangest. By no means restricted
to grey herons alone, it has also been recorded in other species, such
as the tiger and the great blue heron. Presumably it is done to either
dry out the feathers or to increase body heat. |
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Their hunting skills are finely tuned,
stalking the shallows for fish, patiently waiting to strike. They can
keep still for long periods of time just waiting for their prey to swim
close by....Im not sure what the heron below had caught. He found quite
a few of them but instead of trying to get at what was inside he just
left them on the bank. |
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In flight it holds its neck retracted and
has large rounded wings. |
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