BIRD 2

Clearly a chunky, thick-set heron, ID is not helped by the bill being out of sight, immersed in water. However, you can still see that the head is relatively large, suggesting this is one of the smaller species. The brown plumage could suggest Bittern, but the pattern is wrong and the bird is generally too ‘washed out’, lacking black markings you would expect to see. Similar arguments could be used for the tiny Little Bittern, which has also has distinctly pale wing coverts, even on the streaked juvenile. Squacco Heron is a possibility, especially an immature bird (which are streakier). But the red eye is wrong and the wings would be white, even on young birds. This chunky, red-eyed heron is a second calendar year Night Heron.

KEY FEATURES †Chunky shape, thick neck, large head †Pale brown plumage, strongly streaked and edged with white †Thick yellow legs †Red eye