A HERON caused a bit of a stir when it flew in to look around a city centre park.

Photographer Simon Dack was out in Queen’s Park in Brighton when he spotted the bird swoop in and settle in the middle of the pond.

The predatory wader caused a bit of commotion at the pond as the seagulls realised they no longer ruled the roost.

But he caused delight among neighbours and visitors in the park.

Herons have a wing span which can stretch up to 6ft. One of the largest habitats ever recorded was at Great Snowden’s Wood, near Brede in East Sussex, where there were 400 recorded nests in 1866.

According to the RSPB, numbers of the birds in Britain have been growing, and while mostly feeding on fish, they can sometimes eat small rodents. There are an estimated 63,000 in the UK.

For more information about grey herons visit www.rspb.org.uk.