As I was looking for the Geese on camera this afternoon, a Heron flew onto the lake, I hope some of you saw it. You properly saw it fly off a quick as it arrived, as I always chase them off of the lake when I see them. I run to lake as fast as my legs will carry me, clapping my hand with my arms waving in the air, making daft noises, If any one sees me they must think that I need locking up. Sometimes they fly right away, at other time they fly onto the top of a tree, or into a field in the farm next door, and wait for hours to get back onto the lake to have their dinner. I reckon they are tormenting me on purpose. Don’t get me wrong, I would not hurt them, and I like the look of them, but I sure don’t like them taking the fish from the lake. I should think that any of you that have ponds will know what I am talking about. Unfortunately it s not just a case of them taking the odd small fish that they can eat, they will try to take any fish in the lake, what ever size. The main way they fish is to stab the fish with their long bill. If they stab a large fish they are unable to eat it, and it may die or be scarred. More than one Heron visits the lake, properly every day, so you can imagine how many fish they will take over the course of a year.
Our farm drive runs down the side of the lake. One day, when returning home along the drive, I saw three Herons and a Little Egret, all on the lake at the same time. I could not believe my eyes. It looked like one was teaching a young Heron to fish. I don’t know a lot about Herons, so I don’t know if I am right that they are taught by their parents, or not. It was good to see the Little Egret, it was the only time that I have ever seen one, a very attractive, all white bird, I suppose a little more than half the size of a Grey Heron. Attractive as it was, no way was it going to fish the lake. I have heard people say that you don’t get more than one Heron on a pond or lake at a time. That is why some people put dummy Herons by the side of their ponds. An old wives tale, that one.
Back to the Geese, after all the bickering and fighting that the two pairs did yesterday, they were all gone when I went to look this morning. We heard one pair leave and I thought that the other pair were still on the lake. Maybe the two pairs decided that they had lost the territory argument. None had flown back in, this evening, but I should think that at least one pair will return within a day or two.
Woody has not had any recurrence of her illness. Every time we see her laid out flat in the field we have to go check her out, just in case.