Night Heron - 1994

Rare visitor. Recorded from March to May and from October to December

Mathew (1894) records single birds on four occasions, in 1857 and 1868 at Pembroke Mill Ponds and another undated at Lamphey, while one was shot from a group of three roosting near St David's Cathedral. Lockley et al. (1949) added a record of an immature shot near Pembroke in 1919. There were two subsequent records, an adult at Skomer from 12-16 May 1979 and an immature at Bosherston Pools on 11 October 1981, until between March and April 1990 when singles were recorded at Bosherston Pools, Westfield Pill, Rosemarket, St Ishmael's, Trecwn and Abermawr, with two at Skomer and four at Pentood. Some of these birds remained into April, and were part of a major invasion of south-west Britain following a period of strong southerly winds from southern Europe.