Grey herons persist in winter in the Sativa region – expert advises to leave them alone

Individual birds may stay in Finland for the winter if food is available. In Satakunta, gray herons have been observed, for example, in Eurajoki and Pori.

For example, a gray heron was spotted on Luvia over the weekend. A few individuals typically also winter in the condensate area of \u200b\u200bthe Olkiluoto nuclear power plant. On the other hand, 2-3 birds spent time in Pori at the turn of the year.

Exceptional winterers also include, among others, the kingfisher.

– At least one individual winters in Pori.

Food and rest are important

Lind advises that exceptional individual winterers should not be approached, and the exact location should not be revealed either.

– Lots of spectators can easily come to the place. It doesn’t hurt to look further away, but the birds will be disturbed if you come close to take photos.

According to Lind, it’s about life and death.

– Even during the winter, I would be pretty quiet about these observations, so that the birds would have peace of food and rest while they try to survive the winter.

If the disturbance is long-term, the bird may have to change its place, and there may not be too many places to molt in the winter.

According to Bird Life Finland’s bird expert Antti J. Lind, a large part of the exceptional winterers has something wrong with them. They may have an illness, a wing defect or their nutritional status may be poor.