The defense of the egg of the gray herons

* The author is part of the community of readers of La Vanguardia.

Oliver Thansan
Oliver Thansan
06 March 2024 Wednesday 16:03
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The defense of the egg of the gray herons

* The author is part of the community of readers of La Vanguardia

The gray herons arrived a few weeks ago on the banks of the Ter River, in the Osona region, they mated and I have been able to photograph the result.

In this way, we can see in one of these images in La Vanguardia's Readers' Photos the presence of an egg in the nest. Now it's time to incubate until the little gray heron is born.

Like every year they make or rebuild the nests, which are found in the municipality of Torelló. This entire process can be observed without disturbing these birds from the viewpoint on the other side of the river, in Les Masies de Voltregà.

The female usually lays three to five eggs, although sometimes she can lay only two or up to seven eggs. Incubation begins with the laying of the first or second egg and both members of the pair take part in this process, which lasts about 25 days. Additionally, both parents will bring food to the chicks when they hatch.

When the little ones are about to fly, most of them emigrate, although in recent years some herons have always stayed behind, probably due to climate change.