Purple Heron (LBRC)

Rare. Western Europe.

 

 

 

 

                Purple Heron: left/centre, Huttoft Pits April 22nd 2011 (left Graham Catley, right Mark Johnson); right, Manby Flashes July 30th 2019 (John Clarkson).

 

 

Two Purple Herons were discovered at a lake on the Brocklesby Estate in July 1952 and at least one was reportedly still present September 1st. There has been a total of 33 county records involving 35 birds in all, with 19 during 2000-2020 involving around 17 birds. The earliest spring bird arrived April 12th, but the vast majority of spring bird turned up May 6th-May 30th (15). There are five June records and four in July. They are practically unknown in autumn, the sole record being of a juvenile which turned up on November 6th, 1986 which was later found dead at the end of the month. More recently, a remarkable record was of two juvenile birds discovered together at Carlton and Manby Wetlands in July 2019. There is no evidence that they were the product of a breeding pair in the county or elsewhere in Britain but having turned up together they may well have come out of the same nest on the near continent, perhaps The Netherlands. Occasionally summering birds in the UK have been suspected of breeding, but it wasn’t until 2010 that a pair successfully bred at Dungeness in Kent. They were present April 27th-August 23rd and fledged two young.

 

 

Site Name	First Date	Last Date	Count	Notes
River Witham, Hykeham	1854	-	1	One shot in the winter of 1854 by Reverend J. Metcalfe
Brocklesby Estate	31/07/1952	11/08/1952	1	2CY birds
Brockelsby Estate	12/08/1952	31/08/1952	2	First bird joined by another 2CY on August 12th.
Donna Nook	11/05/1968	-	1	Immature
Chapel St Leonards	07/05/1970	08/05/1970	1	Adult
Anderby	23/05/1970	-	1	Same as Anderby bird
Huttoft	04/06/1975	06/06/1975	1
Chapel St Leonards	30/05/1976	-	1
Saltfleetby Theddlethorpe	17/04/1977	-	1
Tattershall	19/05/1977	22/05/1977	1
Chapel St Leonards	12/04/1980	-	1
Donna Nook	18/05/1981	-	1	Immature
Gibraltar Point	26/05/1981	-	1
Deeping Fen	06/11/1986	30/11/1986	1	Immature, found dead on last date
Gibraltar Point	10/05/1988	-	1	Sub-adult
Gibraltar Point	12/05/1999	-	1	Adult
Chapel St Leonards	01/06/2000	03/06/2000	1	Immature
Gibraltar Point	04/06/2000	-	1	Same as Chapel St Leonard's bird.
Barton Pits	01/07/2001	02/07/2001	1
Messingham	20/05/2002	21/05/2002	1
Huttoft	06/05/2003	-	1
Gibraltar Point	20/05/2004	-	1
Rosper Rd Pits, N Killingholme and East Halton	08/06/2005	-	1	Immature
Messingham SQ	18/06/2006	19/06/2006	1
Huttoft Pit	20/06/2006	-	1	Same as Messingham SQ bird
Saltfleetby-Theddlethorpe NNR	13/05/2007	-	1
Huttoft	20/04/2011	24/04/2011	1	First summer
Bicker	26/05/2011	-	1	First summer
Boultham Mere	14/05/2017	-	1	Adult
Donna Nook	21/06/2019	-	1	Immature
Gibraltar Point	24/07/2019	-	1	Adult
Carlton & Manby Washlands	30/07/2019	31/07/2019	2	Two juveniles 30/7, one on 31.7
R. Welland near Deeping Lakes LNR	23/05/2020	-	1	Flying east along the river
Saltfleetby-Theddlethorpe NNR	03/05/2021	-	1	Adult
Saltfleetby-Theddlethorpe NNR	23/05/2021	-	1	Presumed same as bird of May 3rd, not seen in the interim
Alkborough Flats	16/05/2022	-	1	2CY+ bird
Gibraltar Point NNR	17/05/2022	-	1	Over from the from the west and flew out to sea at 0630
Wolla Bank	26/05/2022	-	1	Flew south over the sea
Gibraltar Point	05/05/2023	-	1	Came in-off, then flew away strongly west.
Langtoft GP	14/06/2023	-	1	Roosted later on the estern pit.
Harbrough	10/06/2024	-	1	Briefly, before flying off and was not relocated

 

 

Finder’s report: Purple Herons at the Brocklesby Estate, July 31st, 1952, first county record.

by S. A. Cox

Note:  this account is © British Birds and appeared in volume XXLVI, 1954 as per the reference below. The first record of a Purple Heron in Great Britain may date back to 1722 and it's provenance is discussed by Naylor, K.A. (2023) Historical Rare Birds <https://www.historicalrarebirds.info/>.

 

Circumstances and description

On July 31st, 1952, Mr. J. C. Darnell reported the presence of a strange heron at Lambert Hill fish-pond, Brocklesby, Lincolnshire, and I was able to visit the area in his company the same evening'. When first detected the bird was perching on a luxuriant growth of branched bur-reed (Sparganium ramosum) in the adjoining canal, its russet appearance immediately catching the eye. When it rose the dark edges to its wings were very noticeable, as also was the long, slender, snaky neck. The neck and throat both appeared very pale. The legs were light yellowish-green, and the bill was yellow both inside and out (the bird frequently gaped when resting). It was obvious that the bird was a Purple Heron (Ardea purpurea).

It was next seen perched on an oak, some forty feet from the ground, and its plumage appeared almost exactly the colour of dead oak-leaves. It had previously been silent, but on this occasion when it flew it called nine or ten times. To my ear the call was indistinguishable from that of the Heron (A. cinerea), though possibly a trifle weaker. Subsequently it was frequently seen on the wing at the same time as the resident Herons, so comparisons were simplified.

After a few days Mr. Darnell began to suspect that there was in the area a second bird in similar plumage, and this was confirmed by Mr. R. May who watched two Purple Herons in the air together on August 12th. The two birds were afterwards seen by various ornithologists, and also by the Earl of Yarborough, the owner of the estate. Many good views were obtained, but at times they were difficult to locate, for when standing amongst aquatic vegetation or grass, with the long, snaky necks extended, they were scarcely detectable. It appears that they roosted on an island in the lake with the Herons. The two were last seen together by my wife and myself on August 31st; on the next day, September 1st, Mr. R. May saw one only and all subsequent visits failed to locate them. There appears to be only one previous record of the Purple Heron in Lincolnshire—that which was shot on the river Witham the nineteenth century (although information regarding this record seems very meagre). We are very grateful to Reg May* in whose company we saw both birds on August 23rd. They were in immature plumage, apparently first summer. W.B.A., P.A.D.H., I.J.F.-L*.

 

* For reference, W. B. A. is Wilfred Backhouse Alexander; P.A.D.H. is Philip Arthur Dominic Hollom; I.J.F.-L is Ian James Ferguson-Lees, all eminent ornithologists of this era and later. Reg May was one of the stalwarts of Lincolnshire birding from the 1930's.

 

Reference

Cox, S. A. (1954): Purple Herons in Lincolnshire. British Birds XLVI: 254-255.

 

(Account as per new Birds of Lincolnshire (2021), included October 2022)