Top Attraction charms birds back into the trees

Staff at Muncaster Castle in the Western Lake District are working hard to encourage more than a dozen Grey Herons to build new homes after some of their nesting trees were blown down in January's storms.

At nealry one metre tall, Grey Herons are one of Britain's largest birds. They nest together in groups called heronries, building large nests in the top of tall trees.

Experts at Muncaster are also hopeful that if the heronry is rebuilt, it will enocurage the Little Egret, one of Britain's rarest birds, to nest there too. This graceful small white heron prefers nesting with other herons and three have recently been spotted close to the Castle. It would be the first time that these birds have nested in the north of England.


The heronry at Muncaster is one of the oldest in the UK, dating back hundreds of years. By the early nineties the number of Grey Herons nesting at Muncaster had fallen to only three. However, thanks to a Heron Happy Hour where the birds are fed by staff from the World Owl Trust, which is based at Muncaster, numbers have steadily risen.

Last year there were more than 20 birds nesting in the heronry. The herons normally return to the same nests year after year but about two thirds of the nests were destroyed in the storms which hit Cumbria in January.

Staff at Muncaster now have a nervuos wait over the next week or two to see if the birds rebuild thier nests. Tony Warburton, the Director of the World Owl Trust, says:

'We have taken great pride in rebuilding the heronry at Muncaster. At this time of year, with the start of the breeding season, the herons are very sensitive to changes in their environment.'

'We were hoping to see even more herons nesting at Muncaster this year. I am still hopeful tht it will happen. We are currently feeding abour 20 birds daily during Heron Happy Hour. It is a good sign, but we won't be sure its worked for another week or two.

Heron Happy Hour takes place at 4.30pm every day (3.30pm in the winter). Peter Frost-Pennington, whose family own the castle, says:

'Heron Happy Hour has become a popular attraction at Muncaster. The sight of around 20 of these beautiful birds swooping down to be fed beside the Castle certainly makes an impressive spectacle. I'm glad the birds are still turning up in large numbers to feed but we obviously want to see them nesting here again at Muncaster.'

As well as feeding the herons, many of the trees that came down in the storm close to the heronry have been left for the time being, to avoid disturbing the birds at this critical time.

Tony Warburton says that as long as the herons do nest again in large numbers at Muncaster he is also hopeful that the new visitor will join them. He says: 'In 1996 a number of Little Egrets started nesting in the south of England after flying over from the continent. However, none of the birds have yet settled in the north of England.'

'We have seen a few of these beautiful white herons in the estuary close to Muncaster in the last couple of years. We know they like nesting in heronries so we are hoping that they will eventually come and join the one at Muncaster.'

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