Project Heron at Trentabank
Although Grey Herons (Ardea cinerea) can be found throughout Cheshire, there are relatively few known heron breeding sites in the County. The heronry at Trentabank Nature Reserve has been in existence since at least the mid 1970’s.
As herons are at the top of the freshwater food chain (top predators) they are good indicators of the ‘environmental health’ of a site. As such the Heronries Census, which began in 1928 and is the longest running breeding season monitoring programme in the world is still collecting annual records, which are submitted to the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO).
Not only do we gain valuable information on the heronry at Trentabank i.e.
- Nest preference
- Nest usage
- Population changes over time
- Breeding success
- Length of breeding season (changes over time)
the reserve is important on a national scale as part of a UK-wide monitoring programme.
Once a heronry is established, the birds will return to the same site year after year. The heronry at Trentabank, has approximately twenty nests occupied each year, making it the largest in the Peak National Park. The same nests are used year after year and are repaired and reconstructed by the adult birds until they are suitable for use.
Herons are one of the earliest nesting birds in the country. Breeding starts in January and the eggs are laid between February to April. Both parents incubate the eggs and the chicks hatch at different intervals. The parents feed the chicks on a diet of partially digested fish, though their diet can also include; amphibians, water beetles, eels, earthworms and small mammals.
The National Lottery (Awards for All) is working in partnership with Cheshire Wildlife Trust, Macclesfield and Congleton Volunteers (CWT –local group), United Utilities and Peak Park to beam live footage of this years activities on the heronry to a screen located in the rangers offices at Trentabank.
In January four cameras were placed in the heronry, trained on three nests - the first remote camera link to be established on a heronry in Cheshire. One of the cameras followed a family of five young chicks, which have since fledged. It is hoped that these cameras will provide us with valuable nesting and behavioural activity for years to come as well as being fun and acting as an educational tool for the wider public.
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