Grey Heron

The grey heron (Ardea cinerea) is one of the UK's taller birds (90-98cm) with a wing span double its height. It is relatively common with an estimated 13,000 nests being found in heronries annually. The population of herons increases in winter with a large influx of birds from the continent. Its diet is mainly fish so it is usually found by rivers, streams and lakes. The heron's plumage is an attractive and subtle mixture of grey, black and white against which the orange bill and yellow eye stand out. All these factors make it one of the easier birds to photograph.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon P950

Headless grey heron

I don't keep count of such things but it seems to me that the bird I have photographed successfully more than any other is the grey heron. That's probably because it is a big bird, reasonably common, sometimes tolerant of a close approach, and one that I can fill fill the frame with even using my non-specialist lenses. Today's photograph was taken with the "super-zoom" lens of a bridge camera but the bird was close enough to have been snapped with a more modest lens on my everyday camera. For those who are wondering, this strike was successful and the heron quickly swallowed the fish it caught. The small photograph shows the heron's neck distorted by its passage.


photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon P900