herons

[essex boy]

For the last couple of evenings I've had two herons roosting in the spruce trees that surround my garden. It seems strange that they have chose to be so close to the house and are not roosting somewhere else in the forest

[porshiepoo]

For the last couple of evenings I've had two herons roosting in the spruce trees that surround my garden. It seems strange that they have chose to be so close to the house and are not roosting somewhere else in the forest

Not so strange I don't think! We have some spruce trees around us and the Herons have been nesting in there for years. All together there are 4 properties in or around these trees, seems they don't mind too much how close people are.
Don't suppose there's a pond or a lake nearby too huh? Think these ones have practically emptied our huge pond of Koi so I guess they've decided to nest near to the closest take out. lol.

[Backlass]

There are only two current heronry records for Caithness this year, so it would be interesting to hear where this one is. The BTO's Heronry Census is the world's longest-running bird survey, so any records are welcome.

[porshiepoo]

This may sound a tad ignorant but TBH this is not a species of bird that I have any interest in preserving. Don't get me wrong I used to love them and remember thinking my brother in law was just horrible when he complained about his prize Koi being mullered by this bird. I used to tell him I'd stock a pond just to watch these birds if it meant I'd see them - I remember the look of disgust he gave me even now. lol.
Roll on a few years and now it's our own pond that has been emptied of its Koi - one we've had for 10 years. I never thought I could get attached to a fish but Koi are beautiful and feeding them became part of our 6am ritual. Over the years we've lost the odd one and then a few years back we lost the lot, all except one. We restocked and now this year we have 6 left - 6 out of approx 30. Gutted! Metal Mickeys gone, Bruno's gone, Jessica's gone, Tango & Cash are gone - we're left with 6 fish, and some of those are goldfish!

I'll admit they're a fascinating bird to watch as they fly by but every time they land in those trees, my stomach sinks.