young grey heron

The young heron flew over to the dovecote just as I arrived at the park. The old man I often speak to spotted her as well and pointed to her just as she flew down. He has seen it a few times now but it always amazes him to see her fly down to me. I started feeding her and got about a third of the way through when she flew over to the water and watched for me coming over. The male flew over as well but stayed back from her. She had about a third more then seemed to lose her appetite. Meanwhile the male picked up a large twig and flew off with it to the wooded area (nest building I suspect). The young one picked up a piece of the fish she had dropped, played with it then dropped it again. She then did a little dance - jumping out of the water and side to side flicking her head at the same time (I have since found that they do this to make fish surface in shallow water). She didn't seem interested in any more fish and settled down staring up the loch. I feel certain now that she will be mating soon with the male.

I have another short video but not of the dance unfortunately. flickr.com/photos/11147297@N07...