White-Faced Heron

This heron let me get quite close as he fished and foraged amongst the reeds right next to the Wooden Boat School at Franklin. The herons are quite shy and wary, certainly more so than swans and ducks.

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White-Faced Herons

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There are two White-Faced Herons (Egretta novaeholandiae) who live near the Wooden Boat School. These attractive birds are quite wary and startle easily, and I have struggled to get close enough for usable shots. Obviously need a longer lens! They have a visually lumbering flight, which I note was described by Michael Sharland in 1958 as "heavy", in which their body actually moves up and down in relation to their wings as they slowly flap. It's as if normal birds flap their wings, with their body remaining at a constant height, whereas the herons seem to flap their body up and down between their wings just as much as they flap their wings. Nevertheless, they also fly comfortably from one safe place to another, especially when approached. The two regulars have been roosting on a somewhat under-maintained boat along the jetty which extends to the north from the school.

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