🐾 Maybe the reason I love animals so much, is because the only time they have broken my heart is when theirs has stopped beating.
Showing posts with label blackheaded heron. Show all posts
Showing posts with label blackheaded heron. Show all posts

Saturday 15 December 2018

Spotted in my garden

A few things spotted in my garden in the months just before the sale of our smallholding.

 AfricanSkink

Black Headed Heron 

Black Headed Heron taking flight

Red Toad (Schismaderma carens) at my wildlife pond (Rooiskurwepadda)

Speckled Pigeon (RockDove)

White Browed Sparrow Weaver

A fitting farewell to my Gauteng garden, which I am sorely missing, but new explorations are beckoning here in KwaZulu Natal (South Africa).

Monday 9 May 2016

Black-headed Heron (Ardea melanocephala)


I had an awesome visitor this morning, a Black-headed Heron (Ardea melanocephala). We don't often see them, mostly just after a veld fire, when they will snack on some unfortunate crispy tit-bits left in the wake of the fire. But this morning he was close to my garden fence and, as previously, didn't seem that perturbed about me taking some photos.

They mostly hunt near water, but will also hunt well away from water, taking large insects, small mammals, and birds. It will wait motionless for its prey, or slowly stalk its victim. It's fascinating to watch, but his patience long outlives mine, as he can stand motionless for longer than 10 minutes and by that time I think he's fallen asleep! Both sexes are alike, so I have no idea whether this is a male or a female.


Monogamous and usually colonial, they breed in small, mixed-species heronries. The male calls from a perch to attract a mate, raising its head and giving a loud yelp, sometimes extending its bill vertically as it does so. I've only heard that sound once, and I was totally thrilled!


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