About this handbook
What this handbook covers, what it leaves out, and how its short guides are dated.
This handbook covers grey herons and the wetland edges where they hunt. It explains how to pick a place to watch from, how to tell the bird apart from similar waders, how to read shallow water and regular feeding spots, how to count birds and their roosts quietly, and how to sketch a simple plan of a feeding ground.
What is left out
The handbook leaves out feeding, handling or keeping birds, bird ringing and trapping, and fish stocking or angling. Those subjects need hands-on training, and a written page cannot teach them safely, so they are not covered here.
How the short guides are dated
Short guides sit alongside the chapters. Each one shows the date it was published, so you can see when it was added. Nothing else about the guides is described here.
Reading the chapters
Chapters run in steps. Read the whole chapter once before you go out, then work through the steps in the field. Each chapter also names the mistakes that tend to happen, so you can correct a step before you move on to the next one.
To point out a mistake or ask about a page, write to contact@heronplan.com.