Shaggy thanks,
alighting quietly make sense, and thinking about it, those long legs need a controlled arrival to avoid the risk of snapped bones.
We are many miles from any open water here, and I still can't imagine herons in cruise mode, but i guess one (or a pair) needs to patrol a big territory to find enough food.
I shall keep observing. We're getting low on fish but I'm loath to see a fellow aviator suffer for lack of cold-blooded scaly things to eat.
So far cannot find a 3-view of a DH 114 to see if there's any connection.
regards
HnH