This picture is of the Nankeen (Rufous) Night Heron , and as its name suggests it feeds and hunts nocturnally on fish, frogs and insects. By day they roost in large trees near the water. It is not a bird  commonly seen in South Australia as it requires a habitat of rivers, swamps, creeks or estuaries that we do not have in abundance. The Night Heron is a large majestic bird with beautiful plumage and is not timid by nature , being quite happy to receive a free feed from locals. The best time to see this heron is late afternoon or early evening on Market Square park, as that’s a favoured spot for feeding and breeding.
The park has some very large flat top fir trees which have dense foliage , and the heron builds its nest at the very top. In breeding season the young birds are big and clumsy and are easily frightened and quite often fall or are scared from the nest. Usually the foliage below the nest stops them from falling to the ground, and thats where they continue to be fed by the parents until they can fly.
This natural process has been altered in Old Noarlunga due to the Little Corella invasion which started some ten years ago. Prior to that their annual arrivals were only in small numbers, but over the years these numbers have increased to the current levels of eighteen thousand or more. The corellas arrive here in early December and stay to late March. The Night Heron breeding season is between January and February. The corellas rip and chew the foliage from the trees effectively removing the protection for the young herons.The sheer numbers and noise of the corellas frighten the fledglings from the nest and without the foliage to catch them, there is no protection for the young birds that are still unable to fly.

It’s sad to watch the adult birds trying to protect their home and young from so many corellas, with the young birds dropping to their death as they fall some thirty feet to the ground.This year alone we have lost nine of the ten young birds hatched . We know because we disposed of the bodies. Unless they get help to protect their habitat, these beautiful herons will die out. So we ask you to please stop and look at the whole picture, and give some thought to the other bird life that call Old Noarlunga "home."

A quote from the "Birds of Australia" written by Simpson and Day !
“ Until the beginning of this century heron species that had spectacular plumes were ruthlessly killed to supply the millinery trade , and populations of many species were severely reduced. Today with no such hunting , effective conservation is possible , but it depends on the rigorous preservation of suitable wetland habitats that must be maintained completely undisturbed during the breeding season of the heron”
All our wildlife is important , so we musn't  let one species die out  by favouring another.