Short abstract from the book: The grey heron is a common breeding bird all over Denmark.
The population increased in the twentieth century, especially
over the last 20 years. Of a total of 28,455 ringed grey
herons we have 3,231 recoveries, 1,318 from abroad. Many
young grey herons leave the colonies in June–August. In this
period young birds spread out all over Denmark and neighbouring countries, mainly Germany, Sweden and Norway.
Herons from Jutland are more often found north of the
ringing site than birds from eastern Denmark. The main
autumn migration takes place in September. Some birds
migrate fast to southern Europe, where two birds in their
first year were recovered in Spain (15 August) and Portugal
(27 August). During autumn and winter, birds are reported
from most of western and southern Europe and northwest
Africa. Some birds have crossed considerable distances of sea,
to the Canaries and Cape Verde. Although many birds move
S for the winter, a third are recovered in Denmark during
winter. Most winter recoveries are from Denmark, Germany,
Great Britain, the Netherlands, Belgium and France. Birds
from Jutland have a more northerly winter mean position
than those from eastern Denmark. Since 1970 birds tend to
winter further north than previously. The first birds return
to the colonies in February–March.
Migrants from Sweden and Norway visit Denmark from
late July to April. Swedish birds are found all over Denmark,
and Norwegian birds mainly in Jutland. The grey heron
was protected by law in Denmark in 1980, but about
2,000 birds are still shot around fishponds on dispensation.
In all, 41 % of birds reported as dead were shot, and 3 %
died after collisions with overhead wires.
Read more about the species in the chapter from The Danish Bird Migration Atlashere
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