Images from France, Slovenia, Switzerland and Japan. Above, on the Limmat River in Zurich.

First up:

Ètang des Batayolles, Camargue, France (17 November 2025)

This was not a dance. It was a skirmish between a pair of Gray Herons at the Ètang des Batayolles in the Camargue in south-central France. The one on the right won.

This is victor from above a few minutes earlier.

And another earlier the same morning but about 20 kilometers to the north and more inland. It looks as though he had just finished his breakfast.

Parc Naturel Départemental de Vaugrenier (7 December 2025)

This Gray Heron was spotted in the PND de Vaugrenier, in Villeneuve-Loubet, a town about 17km up the coast west from Nice, and about 5km east of Antibes. It’s a great spot for birding, with two hides, one, from where this photo was taken, at the edge of a large pond. The light wasn’t the best but I still like the reflection in the relatively still water.

Embouchure du Var, France (22 November 2025)

The Embouchure de Var is explained below, so I’ll just a photo keep the locational chronology intact.

Embouchure du Var, France (23 August 2025)

The Gray Herons in this first set were spotted in early evening at the Embouchure du Var, the mouth of the Var river near Nice. Just beyond the east bank is Nice Côte d’Azur Airport; on the left is a large shopping center and the city and commune of Saint-Laurent-du-Var. In between those busy locales is the Embouchure du Var [eBird Hot Spot link | my Embouchure du Var observation reports], the most important Mediterranean wetland in southeast France. Watching the heron below quietly and effortlessly perform his balancing act almost made me forget how busy and loud the area is, with planes taking off and landing every few minutes.

I counted six during a 35-minute early evening visit, most of them on a little sandbar or balancing on downed trees. I caught this one below as it took off towards another sandbar that sits in front of the open sea.

Zurich, Switzerland (27 and 29 August 2025)

Next up, two shots of two Gray Herons observed along the Limmat Vogelinsel, a small ‘bird island’ in the Limmat River in Zurich. The first, at top as the lead photo, calmly shading himself from the morning sun and the second flying towards the river’s opposite bank about a half hour before sunset.

Tokyo (15 September 2025)

Next, high above the Sakuradabori Moat on the southwestern edge of the Imperial Palace in Tokyo. I think this scene would make for a beautiful Ukiyo-e landscape woodcut.

This encounter marked the fourth country in six weeks where I’ve managed to snap a few shots of a Gray Heron. The first was below, in Strunjan, Slovenia.

Strunjan, Slovenia (4 August 2025)

I lived in Slovenia for 17 years and visit frequently, but never managed to snap a photo of a Gray Heron (Ardea cinerea), a common if temporary resident in the country. Until last week when I finally bagged this one, he standing typically quiet, stoic and virtually motionless, at the edge of the Stjuža Lagoon in Slovenia’s Strunjan Regional Park and Nature Preserve. It could be better technically but I’m still happy with it for a first-time effort. Gray Herons are common throughout Europe so crossing paths with another shouldn’t prove too difficult.

The Stjuža Lagoon is the only Slovenian sea lagoon, just one of the unique features of this compact but amazing park that also includes the northernmost preserved working sea pans in the Mediterranean and a four-kilometre stretch of Adriative coastline that is the longest section of unspoiled coastline in the Gulf of Trieste. The salt pans have been in operation for more than 700 years.

This was a good exercise in testing the limits of my new Sigma 150-600 Zoom Contemporary, which I unboxed just a week before this visit to Strunjan and used just a handful of times. Darkness was descending quickly and I had limited time so I did rush around to get a lay of the land. The settings here: f7.1, 1/640 at ISO 1600 at 600m. Next time I will fiddle with those a bit.

Despite the rush, it was a very good early evening of birding. I also crossed paths with a Little Egret, a Black-Winged Stilt, Hooded Crows, a pair of lonely Mallards, a couple Mute Swans and a small variety of gulls.

More about the Gray Herons:

• Size: Typically measures 64 to 98 cm in height; wingspan ranges from 120 to 200 cm.
• Weight: Adults usually weigh between 1.5 to 3.5 kg.
• Habitat: Prefers wetlands, marshes, lakes, rivers, and coastal regions; often found near both freshwater and saltwater environments.
• Range: Widespread throughout Europe, parts of Asia, and North Africa; migratory populations in the northern regions travel to warmer areas during winter.
• Diet: Primarily feeds on fish, amphibians, small mammals, and invertebrates; employs a “stand-and-wait” hunting technique.
• Breeding: Nests in trees or shrubs, typically form colonies; breeding season varies by location but often occurs in spring and early summer.
• Conservation Status: Generally classified as “Least Concern” by the IUCN, though local populations may face threats from habitat loss and pollution.

For further reference:

• Gray Heron at Birds of the World
• Gray Heron at BirdLife DataZone
• Gray Heron at eBird
• Gray Heron at Avibase
• Gray Heron at Wikipedia
• Gray Heron at iNaturalist

Originally published on 7 August, 2025; last updated on 26 September, 2025.