Purple Herons in Britain

The Purple Heron, Ardea purpurea, is a large, attractive heron who is closely related to the Grey Heron and Bittern in Britain. A few Purple Herons fly to southern and eastern England in the spring and summer. 

A pair of Purple Herons successfully bred for the first time in Kent in 2010. Ornithologists believe Purple Herons may become a new resident breeding species in Britain in the future.

Purple Herons are smaller and slimmer than Grey Herons and described as having a snake-like appearance.

Males and females are alike with a ginger head and neck. The crown is black and there are black lines on the face and along the neck. 

The chest and flanks are light brown with long plumes on the chest. The back is grey which sometimes appears as purple.

Adults are large birds who reach a height of 90 centimetres, or nearly 3 feet. The wingspan is up to 1.5 metres or 5 feet

Purple Herons are solitary birds who are most active at dusk and dawn. They are generally silent except for the breeding season when they make a loud croaking sound.

“Widespread in continental Europe and across Asia, purple herons migrate every autumn to spend the winter in Africa south of the Sahara (Independent - https://www.independent.co.uk/environment/nature/european-herons-relocate-to-kent-as-temperatures-rise-1976458.html ). 

Purple Herons are rare visitors in Britain as some adults are seen in southern and eastern England between April and May. They visit reedbeds, marshes, riverbanks, estuaries and sometimes sea coasts.

Juveniles in Europe are nomadic. A few reach the shores of Britain after the breeding season. They spend the rest of the summer in Britain before migrating to their wintering grounds in Africa.

Purple Herons sulk in reedbeds and marshes where they forage for fish such as perch, carp and sticklebacks as well as eels, insects (dragonflies, water beetles) and amphibians. Small mammals (shrews and water voles) are sometimes eaten.

They are often seen with their necks coiled or stretched over the water while hunting for their prey.

Pairs return to their breeding areas between March and May. Breeding takes place in colonies in Europe. 

The nest is made on the ground among vegetation or in a tree in wetlands.

The Purple Heron is classified as of Least Concern by IUCN.

The trend for the global and European population is described as decreasing.

Purple Herons “increased its population and expanded its range in north Europe during the last century, especially into Germany and the Netherlands". 

"However, a downward numerical trend occurred since the 1970’s across west and east Europe, with a few countries as exceptions..The Dutch population is now isolated. In Russia the expansion of in the 1970’s proved short term”

“The Spanish population in the Ebro Delta dropped from 1,000 pairs in the 1970’s to about 60 in early 1970’s recovering to 400 by the 1990’s..The recovery in Spain was continuing into the 1990’s”. 

“In Mediterranean France, a decline from the early 1980’s was reversing in the mid 1990’s”

(Heron Conservation – Status – https://www.heronconservation.org/herons-of-the-world/list-of-herons/purple-heron).

A pair of Purple Herons caused a stir among ornithologists in England when they successfully bred for the first time in Britain in 2010. The male and female chose a nest site in the Dungeness peninsula in Kent. 

There have been reports of Purple Herons in Britain although none were breeding birds.

A juvenile Purple Heron visited Ruan Lanihorne in Cornwall in 2017. An adult was seen at Leighton Moss Nature Reserve in Lancashire also in 2017.

Avalon Marshes in Somerset played host to an adult Purple Heron in July 2018. Another adult was seen in Shapwick Heath National Nature Reserve in Somerset in May 2018.

An adult Purple Heron was spotted in Blacktoft Sands Nature Reserve in Yorkshire in June 2019. The last sighting of a Purple Heron on the Reseve was 30 years ago.

Experts believe the warmer weather due to climate change will cause Purple Herons and other species of bird to regularly breed in Britain, particularly southern England.

The main threat to Purple Herons is loss of reedbeds because of agricultural changes and harvesting of reeds.

For more information on the birds of the gardens and countryside of Britain and Ireland, please visit,

http://bird4u.mzzhost.com/index.html

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Birdguides: https://www.birdguides.com/news/purple-heron-breeding-success-a-uk-first/