Irish Name - Corr réisc - Name - Grey Heron - Latin - Ardea cinerea
Heron – A mysterious fisherman of the wetlands, rivers and lakes.
Have you walked along a riverbank or a lake edge and in the corner of your eye seen a slight movement? Did you imagine it or was there something there?
All of a sudden, you see a beautiful long slender bird perching elegantly amongst the reeds, almost as being as one with the reeds or the branches. You can then understand why Irish folklore states that this bird represents vigilance.
This wading bird is known as a Heron or the Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea) and is Ireland’s tallest bird. Beautifully poised, it’s quite common in Ireland as an all-year-round resident. Herons can be found in different habitats ranging from wetlands, grasslands to woodlands and marine and inter tidal.
It’s one of the most recognisable birds to distinguish with its distinctive features of long slender legs & neck, yellow/orange beak, a black eye stripe and a sleek black plume on its head. Plumage of grey, white and black make it suitable for it to camouflage amongst its surroundings. It stands tall to a height of three feet. The long legs help the heron wade slowly through the water hardly stirring the surface whiles its long toes easily grapple the sand or mud beneath it.
In flight, herons have an arched wingspan of up to six feet and their neck is drawn back. When flying it gives a prehistoric feeling almost looking like silhouette of a pterodactyl. It has a harsh crawking call which can sound like “kraank” when flying.
When hunting, herons are solitary birds. Standing still for minutes at a time while it patiently waits for a fish to venture into the water at its feet. With a ninja like stealthiness it attacks its unsuspecting prey with a quick swoop with its dagger like beak. Its main food will vary from fish, amphibians and sometimes small mammals like rodents. Sometimes, they are known to indulge on goldfish from garden ponds! Generally, it will swallow its prey in one go.
Herons live in a colony called heronry located high up in treetops. Their nests are platforms made of grasses and twigs. On average, a lifespan of a heron in the wild is approximately five years, however, the oldest has been recorded at 23 years old! Their breeding season is from late February to early June with 3 to 5 eggs are laid per season. A little-known fact a collection of herons is called a “siege of herons”.
The Greeks believed the heron was a good omen and is associated with Poseidon. While in Celtic mythology, the heron was an embodiment of the goddess Rhiannon, a deity associated with lakes and water. Allegedly, if a heron flies south, it a sign of good weather however, if it flies north cold weather is on the way.
In the 16th Century, Henry VIII proclaimed them protected species only to be hunted by nobility and royalty. Nowadays, like all birds they are protected by the Wildlife Act 1976.
Come and visit our resident graceful herons here at the Tralee Bay Wetland Ecology Park.
Written by Cathy Harpur, Ecologist
