Black-crowned Night Heron
I have been fortunate to have had a number of sightings of Black-crowned Night Heron in the last few years. I doubt that I will see any of the other species of night heron and so am describing them as Night Heron on this site.
The first six images were taken whilst we were in the Camarque in 2021. The first is of a juvenile in the foreground with an adult behind flexing it’s wings, the second of an adult. The other images make up a short flight sequence.
This next sequence was taken at the Ebro Delta in January 2023. We had just pulled into a busy campervan parking area behind a restaurant and noticed a few people watching birds flying overhead in the evening light. They weren’t just any birds. It was a flock of around 50 night heron and they were part of a rookery of over 100 birds which had settled about 100 yards away from the parking area.
An overhead cable was laden with them. Trees and bridge nearby were stunning backdrops for them.
As the light of the sun diminished, the birds started to make their way away from the rookery to look – and listen – for food.
Night heron stand around 2 ft tall and weigh about 2 lbs. Their diet is mainly fish but it also includes frogs, lizards, eggs, insects, worms, shrimp, crabs and crayfish. They have their own territories and hunt alone by moving slowly through shallow water, searching for small prey. They have shorter legs than other members of the heron family but just like other heron, once they spot prey, they strike forward and grab it with their beaks.
This last image of a juvenile and the header picture of an adult coming into land were taken in the Ebro Delta in December 2023. I am very pleased to say that the rookery is still there and that returning to the campervan from a walk to watch the sun set we saw some of them beside the water and some in the water ready for their night time search for food. It was just light enough for me to count them – there was over 120 of them. Sadly I did not have my camera with me so that sight stays with me as one of those most treasured memories. Until December 2024 maybe ….
