I rarely see the heron chicks in the spring but come the autumn, the juveniles are present in abundance. As the population remains stable, I guess many must migrate to new areas.
With only an hour to spare, there is a tension between observing and drawing such that interesting behaviour never makes it on the page. I watched for many minutes as one hunted through the reedy margins, striking at tiny fish. It also snapped at and caught a large flying insect. I think herons’ eyes are angled downwards but these young birds were fascinated by the passing trains and the aeroplanes ascending overhead. Their necks curled and their heads tilted sideways so they could get a view.
I focussed my sketches on preening. Here too is a little egret, aptly called compared to the much larger heron on the same bank.