Rather be flying said...."Anything that moves and fits down the beak is food for herons and most other birds."
A farmer friend, near Metfield Suffolk, has a large pond - 100 feet by 40 stocked with big fat carp. Some years ago we drained the lake, to attend to the clay sealer layer and in doing so transferred the mighty beasts to a smaller pool. In handling the carp it was noticeable that
nearly every one had been stabbed in the back by herons. A large number had distorted spines as a result. Vicious birds.
Thread creep....
Nearby at old Metfield Airfield is the remains of a huge crater caused by the resident B-24 bomb dump exploding as someone mishandled a fused one. There is a picture somewhere of an airman pointing skyward at a 3 ton truck which had reached an altitude of around 1500 feet. Found it.....
1200 tons went up