THIS IS FINDON VILLAGE —  created by Valerie Martin, contains scenes from her home village of Findon, West Sussex, U.K.

SQUAWKING OVER CISSBURY RING

Copyright Valerie Martin 2008

Why did the heron squawk?   This is not one of those jokes.   

One day towards the end of September 2008 I noticed the unusual sight of a lone heron flapping his/her way quite low over the waterless downland of Cissbury Ring.    Every few seconds he/she gave a squawk.  

There were no other birds about.   I had not heard a heron utter anything before... although I have often seen them fishing beside the River Adur and near the River Arun.    Early some mornings a lone bird navigates its way over Nepcote and sits on the roof of a neighbouring bungalow to survey the scene.    Not locating any water, it leisurely flaps its way south west and I have seen it return along the same route in the evening.

Was the harsh cry over Cissbury Ring just a noisy complaint at not finding any water..... or a cry for the attention of any other possible herons do you think?   I posted this question to a birding website and got some informative answers and these I will share with you.   

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"Can you get a move on and stop messing around, we want to go go for our walk".  

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"We're missing something that's going on over there".     

Michael Watson emailed to say.... "Have often heard Herons making a 'cronking' noise.

I used to get up very early to get to my favourite sea-trout pool on my local river, which was a race between me and a heron; if I got there first he would fly past with a very loud "cronking" - one seriously miffed heron".

The harsh cry of my squawking heron over Cissbury Ring may well aptly be described as "cronking".   I loved it.   Thank you, Michael.

I decided to add this call to my simplified avian dictionary for absolute beginners .......along with  LBJs that can't be identified....... my code for Little Brown Jobs.    "De Luxe LBJ" is an abbreviation for anything that looks as if it might possibly be exotic and just flown in..... and "Basic LBJ" for ones that are just homely and drab and mottled and speckled brown.

Robert Slater joined in the discussion....Reply to 'squawking Heron' ......I have often heard Herons squawk as they fly along Pevensey Haven nearby.

One evening about five years ago at Dungeness RSPB a Heron flew along squawking to be joined by another then another - all calling - until eventually there must have been two dozen flying along!! The warden of the reserve said this was not too unusual!"

What a sight..... a dozen herons squawking..... I can't beat that one.

Sarah Patton said ....."Hi Valerie.....Cronking....To me, it's the Ravens that 'cronk' - I haven't got a name for the heron squawk!  Little Egrets make a similar noise to the heron - I was on Hayling Island recently and 11 egrets flew up from a tree making a terrible racket!

Ravens are doing rather well in Sussex, so always check and see if your 'cronk' is coming from a huge (buzzard-sized) black bird with a diamond-shaped tail."

 

I should have thought of it before but it suddenly occurred to me to look up the heron on my Birds of the Western Palearctic programme and definitely identified my squawking heron as giving the "FLIGHT CALL of the Grey Heron".     I learn something every day.  

The subject of the squawking heron did not die and Cliff Dean added..."Squawking Herons - esp coastal ones ....Small parties of migrant Herons come in off the sea at Pett Level from time to time.

They fly much higher than the local birds, are in small flocks, and are unusually vocal.

A couple of weeks ago, coinciding with the departure of Spoonbills, there were daily counts of hundreds of Grey Herons moving down the Dutch coast."

From Sophie May Lewis....."On the subject of squawking Herons, I have often heard them 'cronking' and in 2006 spent a week at Harbour Farm, Bembridge, Isle of Whight, in a cabin opposite a large heronry.

Here you can see the Herons nesting in the reedbeds, as well as in the trees and I was told that it is the only place in the UK where this happens.

Unfortunately it was not open to the public except via arrangement with the warden but I do not know if this has changed now."

Last but not least from Carole Jode....."Joining the debate about squawking Herons they certainly squawk when being mobbed over our garden by corvids and gulls."

At least now I know a little more about a bird that does not normally frequent the environs of our waterless Cissbury hill and Findon downland.

Continue if you would like to see the Bird Ringing Results and the The Big Bird Debate — 2008

THIS IS FINDON VILLAGE — www.findonvillage.com is a continually growing record created by Valerie Martin exclusively for documenting life in Findon.