Heron Wars in Stockbridge

The garden in winter 

The tranquillity of the garden in winter has recently been replaced by the threat of a predatory heron. He arrives at about 7.30 each morning and stands on the roof of the garage to check the lie of the land before flying down to the lawn and then walking across to the pond to begin his predations. I watched 'my' bird for some time this morning and although he couldn't see me, he was wary and stood on the lawn for about 20 mins before flapping off. 

The heron waiting before approaching the pond

I went out at lunchtime and when I returned, he had been waiting and launched himself off the top of a huge chestnut nearby and flew over my head giving loud krrraarrk calls before returning to the tree. I hoped he might have been pleased to see me but in fact, I think they were either taunts or calls of thanks - because when I got to the pond I could see from the 'dust' that he leaves on the surface that he had been in. Curiously, although he has been visiting daily for a couple of weeks now, there still seem to be almost as many fish in the pond, and I can only assume that they hide successfully in the mud at the bottom or that he is following doctor's orders and taking only one a day.

The heron standing beside the pond

They are magnificent birds an stand over 3ft tall with a wingspan of 6ft.  As the RSBP website puts it, 'they are not easily deterred'. They also become tolerant of humans - and we of them

Update as of April 2019: I have waited for the water to warm up and the fish, if any, to energe from the mud where they have spent the winter, but I am sad to report that I can see only one fish. The rest have gone.