Pathway

Stepping Stones

Preening

I walked a different route to one of my local pools and once there I noticed that the Heron was sitting on one of his usual perches, surveying the pool. Every now and then he would fly over the ducks and geese, chasing them away before landing on the edge of the pool. Back and forth he flew before settling on a low branch at the other end of the pool.

Surveying

Ready to Fly

Surveying

Chasing the Gulls

Surveying

I followed him round and caught a picture of him sitting there before he flew to resume his original position in the middle of the pool. Every now and then he took flight to chase the ducks, geese and seagulls away from his territory, eventually settling on the bank just out of view.

Ready to Sleep

I continued walking around the lake taking care not to startle him. When I got to where he had settled, I was just able to see him. He looked like he was settling down for a sleep when I heard a loud ‘kaark’ sound followed by second heron flying in low to chase him off. What a sight that was! It happened far too quickly for me to get to my camera in time.

Resting

Pool Side

I resumed my walk stopping to take some pictures of the geese settled round the edge of the pool. As I was taking photos the heron returned, settled on the same low branch at the far end of the pool before deeming it safe to stand once again in the middle of the pool surveying his territory. Surveying complete he flew off, leaving me to continue my walk.

Back Again

23 Comments CherryPie on Jan 8th 2020

23 Responses to “A Tale of Two Herons”

  1. Poor ducks, seagulls and geese… I bet they didn’t realise the pool was the heron’s private territory and that they had to find another place to have some fun. Mind you, the pool looks well and truly big enough to support more than one, snooty bird.

  2. lisl says:

    The heron must expend quite a lot of energy chasing off the other water birds. I have never seen that behaviour in a heron – they normally sit quietly fishing and ignoring the other waterfowl

    • CherryPie says:

      This is the second time I have observed a heron behaving that way on this pool.

      It is not as if it is the only pool in the nearby location…

      So I am wondering why the change of behaviour from sitting quietly to chasing other birds off.

      Another interesting thing I have observed on this pool is ducks climbing out of the water to chase a cat that got too near to the pool. The cat beat a hasty retreat…

  3. Ginnie says:

    My guess is there was an entire conversation and maybe even a fight (?) before the whole thing was settled. HA! The things we can observe without knowing the entire story!

  4. Astrid says:

    It is always nice to observe birds, alone or in a group.
    I read your response to Lisl and might it be possible that each heron has it’s own territory? Often people here put a fake heron at their pond in the garden to show other herons “this pond is taken”… This is only to make sure a real heron does not get his dessert in their pond :) …..

  5. shabana says:

    i love observing nature and all birds and rodents ,it was my favorite hobby back in my village ,i often remember pair crow and robin one of which was lame

    i bet you enjoyed this study of heron dear Cheri
    i enjoyed reading it so much !
    wishing you a happy new year my friend blessed with health ,peace aand happiness,amen!

    • CherryPie says:

      Nature is amazing and my newly found walking hobby allows me to see and hear more of it. So uplifting.

      Sending my love and best wishes to you and your family for 2020 xx

  6. shabana says:

    i love observing nature and all birds and rodents ,it was my favorite hobby back in my village ,i often remember pair crow and robin one of which was lame

    i bet you enjoyed this study of heron dear Cheri
    i enjoyed reading it so much !
    may you have blessed new year health peace joy!

  7. Chrysalis says:

    Oh my gosh, what beautiful photos you have of “Prince Harry” the heron! I especially love that last one.

    Yep, herons are actually very territorial, I’ve discovered, witnessed the same behaviors in our small lake/reservoir, near here. I noticed above someone said they’d never seen that from herons, but I’ve noticed it more when the water level gets low, less resources maybe? At least here in America.

    I also find the ducks can be, in the same situation (less water/resources). And there’s always one loud duck, regardless, sounds like he’s laughing at/heckling the others, not sure what that’s about lol. I could watch them for hours :)

    Btw, a heron flew straight past my balcony, the other day, very low, it was unusual, and I thought of you :)

    Also had a broad-tailed hawk sitting in my tree.

    Herons flying over you supposedly bring luck, according to Native American lore, and hawks are supposedly my totem, so let’s pretend these are all good omens for us, all around ;)

    • CherryPie says:

      I have to confess that I have never seen Herons behave that way before the two occurrences of chasing ducks etc. on this pool.

      Love the thought of your Heron :-)

      These things are ‘gifts’ :-)

  8. Alan says:

    Herons are fascinating. I admire their patience and their eyesight; neither of which are best attributes.

  9. Wonderful shots. The last time I saw a heron was at Erddig.

  10. The Yum List says:

    I love watching animals in nature.

  11. You know herons would eat anything that they can fit into their mouths, right?
    OMG, I saw one swallowing a whole mole before.
    So terrifying!