Heron

Heron nests in the colony at Askehoved.

Until 1954 there was a Heron colony in Østskoven, but when the section of the forest where the herons lived was felled, the colony moved en masse to Askehoved in Bognæs Forest. For many years the colony consisted of about 150 pairs, but since the arrival of Cormorant in the late 1980s the Heron colony has been reduced to fewer than 50 pairs. Since they got a pair of White-tailed Eagles as neighbours in 2007 the colony has shrunk even more.

Herons often forage a long way from the colony in streams and ponds, and are often also seen on salt meadows and fields, looking rather like `umbrella stands´. In the winter most herons migrate to the ice-free rivers and lakes of northern Europe. Like the Cormorant, the Heron starts to breed very early in the spring.


A Heron in flight.





Key to the Distribution Map.

Heron - population trends