Grey Heron

Ardea cinerea

Order: Pelecaniformes
Family: Ardeidae
Presence in the Strait: Resident
Abundance: common
Protection in Spain: Special protection (List)
In Spanish: Garza real

Photograph: Frank Sengpiel, CC BY, vía iNaturalist

Length: 90–98 cm
Wingspan: 150–175 cm
Weight: 1,550 g

Presence in the Strait

Common resident of wetlands. There were signs of breeding at La Janda before it dried out. Breeding was confirmed at the Barbate Reservoir in 1999 (8 pairs), 2000 (6 pairs) and 2001 (16 pairs). Non-breeding birds present in summer throughout the area. Winter visitors are more abundant (>300).

Identification

Large, mostly grey body with black and white head. Flies with arched wings and slow wing-beats, neck withdrawn into an “S” shape and legs extended beyond the tail. Juveniles have a dark crown, lack black on shoulder and are more uniformly grey.

Movements

Presaharan migrant. Postnuptial migration begins in July with peaks in August and September for Iberian birds; in October a further peak occurs for birds from other areas. Prenuptial migration is less evident, with peaks in February and March.

Ring recoveries

France (11), Germany (6), Holland (4), Denmark (3), Sweden (2), Spain (2), Poland (1), United Kingdom (1) and Czech Republic (1).

Bioestrecho editorial text. Last revised: 8 September 2026.

Photographs from iNaturalist observations with the licence checked file by file. Those marked “Strait” were taken within the area; place and date are those of each observation.

Calendar in the Strait

22 %

Peak in September. Observations under CC0 or CC BY licences. The distribution also reflects observation effort.

Where it is seen

Open records from the atlas database, in cells of about 3.6 km. Opacity follows the square root of the count, and also reflects where people observe most.

See on the map

First open record: 11 September 1966
Latest record: 15 February 2026

The oldest and the most recent open observation in the extended area. A recent first observation does not mean the species is new: it means nobody had published it openly before.

Conservation

The catalogues, Andalusian and Spanish, are what binds; the Red Book assesses the Spanish population with IUCN criteria, and the global Red List is the context.

LCNTVUENCR

Andalusian Catalogue: Special protection (List)
Spanish Catalogue: Special protection (List)
Red Book of the Birds of Spain 2021: LC · Least concern · breeding — LC · Least concern · wintering or migrating
Global Red List (IUCN): LC · Least concern

Andalusian Catalogue: Junta de Andalucía, list of 24 April 2025. Spanish Catalogue: MITECO, table of 30 June 2025. Red Book: SEO/BirdLife, 2021 (Annex I). IUCN: via GBIF, 6 September 2026. Red Book and IUCN categories are assessments; catalogue categories are legal obligations.

Phenology compared

Monthly distribution in proportion, by decade. It shows whether the passage is getting earlier or later.

1990–1999

2000–2009

2010–2026

Proportions, not totals: observation effort grew faster than any population.

Where they come from

31 birds ringed in other countries and recovered in the area.

France11
Germany6
Netherlands4
Denmark3
Sweden2
Spain2

See the journey on the map

Same genus in the Strait

Purple Heron78–90 cm · Seasonal · overlapping size

Species of the same genus that also occur here, ordered by how close they are in size. Being relatives does not mean they are confused in the field, but that is where the doubts start: compare size and season.

Classification

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Pelecaniformes
Family: Ardeidae
GBIF taxon key: 9797180

Sources

Distribution and calendar: Bioestrecho's own database, ingested from GBIF and OBIS
Photograph: Frank Sengpiel, CC BY, vía iNaturalist
Taxonomy: GBIF backbone, pending WoRMS for marine taxa
Editorial text: written by Bioestrecho
Last revised: 8 September 2026

Grey Heron

Presence in the Strait

Identification

Movements

Ring recoveries

Gallery