Grey Herons are incredible! On the one hand, there is something primal about their appearance. On the other, evolution seems to have overreached in providing them with those long legs, that extensive, extending, flexible neck, and that yellow-orange, dagger-like bill. Of course, these are the characteristics that enable them to hunt so effectively in very diverse settings and to take many different types of prey. However, when it comes to nesting, you can’t tell me that this is an ideal design solution! They look so clumsy and ill-fitted to the situation.

Herons typically build nests amongst the branches of tall trees (see photograph), although there are some exceptions, in the UK and in Europe, with e.g., nests built on rocks, in bushes, on cliff faces, and in reedbeds. Nesting begins particularly early in the year - often in February. This may have come about so maximum food availability coincides with the period when chicks need feeding. However, it has also been suggested that an adaptive advantage is that the young are more developed by the winter and better able to withstand harsh conditions. Surveys have shown that birds in their first year are particularly at risk during the winter. Of course, these are not mutually exclusive explanations.

When it comes to nest construction, the male brings a supply of materials (mainly sticks/twigs) and the female arranges them to form the nest. However, this can be just a ‘repair job’, with a pair of Herons using a nest from a previous year. It seems these ‘multi-year’ structures often expand and become progressively more complex. Perhaps it’s the Heron equivalent of putting on a conservatory.

Sometimes a pair of Herons build an isolated nest - but it is more usual for them to nest with conspecifics, in a colony - a ‘Heronry’, as they are called. Colonial nesting describes a situation in which birds nest in close proximity to one another and ’commute’ to other areas to forage for food - both to feed themselves and also to bring back for their offspring.

If you would like to see a Heronry in this area, RSPB Fairburn Ings (take a good pair of binoculars) and the Yorkshire Sculpture Park are both possibilities - but don’t delay! Alternatively, there is a ‘live view’ of a Heronry that is shown on YouTube that you can find here: www.youtube.com/live/J-7oR3UwrwM?si=TDq3NryIq4O7M-zg