i8o 



THE BIRDS OF ESSEX. 



Order HERODIONES. 



Family ARDEIDiE. 



Heron : Ardea cinerea. Locally, " Frank," " Frank Hern," and 



" Hernshaw." 



A common resident ; met with singly or in small parties in most 



parts of the county from autumn to early spring, especially among 



the marshes 

 along the 

 Thames,and 

 on our east 

 coast. There 

 are four He- 

 ronries now 

 existing in 

 the county, 

 two of which 

 are of con- 

 s i de rable 

 size, namely 

 at Birch, 

 where there 

 are about 

 170 nests, 

 and \V a n- 

 stead Park, 

 At St. Osyth there are about five nests, 

 For fuller details, the reader is referred 



HERONS, I/20- 



where there are about forty. 



and at Boreham about nine. 



to Mr. E. A. Fitch's most interesting article on Essex Heronries 



(50. ii. 171), from which I have gleaned much information. 



These birds are occasionally seen during summer at a considerable distance 

 from any Heronry. On July loth, 1877, I put one up from the brook at Chignal 

 St. James, and on July 17th following 1 saw another at Roxwell. On July 20th, 

 1876, I saw one near Dunmow, and on June 13th, 1880, another at Great Chester- 

 ford. On June 4th, 1882, I saw another here. About the first week in Decem- 

 ber, 1875, one was killed in the brook Cann at Chignal St. James, by a dog, 

 which jumped on its back from the bank of the stream. It severely bit ihe hand 

 of the man who assisted. At Orsett, Mr Sackett says they are fairly plentiful on 

 the marshes during spring, summer, and autumn, but he has never observed 



