The Grey Heron is our largest predatory bird. They are not always that easy to get a close up photograph of but with a bit of care and a good slice of luck, it can be done. What is for sure though is that they are a very smart bird and if they were rare then they would certainly cause quite a stir. They are carnivorous and will take a wide range of prey which includes fish, amphibians and reptiles. Infact they will take just about anything alive as long as they can swallow it whole including mammals and ducklings. Whenever non-birding people see a Grey Heron they will always stop and stare, such is their magnificence. Their favourite prey is probably fish and eels and they will stand stock still by the waters edge for long periods waiting before they pounce. You can imagine how much damage the beak could cause, they catch their prey by shooting the long neck forward at lighting speed, grasping the prey in the beak rather than spearing it on the point. You can see the plumes on the back of this adult bird, historically these plumes have been their downfall. It was fashionable in the milinary trade to decorate hats with the plumes of Herons, both of this species and others in the USA which led to the formation of the RSPB here in the UK and the Audubon Society in the US. Both organisations campaigned in the early days of their formation to protect herons and egrets from the plume trade. Herons are probably more common in he UK than they have ever been. They were eaten in both Tudour and Elizabethan England and they would have been shot to protect fisheries right in to the 20th Century. Again the formation of the RSPB would have been the start of their protection. The bird below is very close to the heronry in Powderham Park which is Devon's largest heronry
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