Herman the Heron

Herman the Heron!

Herman is a youngster from last year, who was born out on our reserve, and through no encouragement from us is a very friendly heron who visits our otter ponds nearly every day.

Now, of the many herons roosting on our reserve, a lot visit at the end of the day to pick off the scraps of fish our otters leave behind. But Herman is different. He visits even when no food is around, and is very VERY bold. I have had him within feet while I have been doing a keeper talk before.

He is playing a risky game, as our otters have taken herons before, but they don't seem to mind Herman at the moment, and he seems a bit more clued in too.

Either way, they seem to tolerate each other at the moment, and he is a welcome sight in our otter pond.

As well as Herman, we have our wild wild herons on our reserve. Chicks in the nest constantly calling for food means a lot of action down there too. Best place to spot them is from either our wetland boardwalk, or maybe even better our second car park on the edge of the reserve.