Birds
Black-crowned Night Heron
Nycticorax nycticorax · Stârc de noapte
A stocky heron that is most active at dusk and night, roosting in trees by day.
At a glance
- Status in Romania
- Summer visitor
- Habitat
- Wetland
- Activity
- Evening · Night · Morning
- Diet
- Opportunistic: a wide range of aquatic and marsh organisms.
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)
- Photography difficulty
- Moderate
Identification
Adults have a black crown and back, grey wings, white underparts and red eyes. Juveniles are brown with pale spots.
Habitat
Extensive natural wetlands with rich vegetation for colonies and marshy areas for feeding.
Distribution
Breeds mainly in the lowlands outside the Carpathian arc, with the Danube Delta and lagoon system the most important areas; fewer colonies inside the arc.
Approximate range in Romania
When it is active
Evening · Night · Morning
Diet
Opportunistic: a wide range of aquatic and marsh organisms.
Behaviour
Roosts in groups in trees during the day and flies out to feed at dusk.
Seasonality in Romania
Breeds in Romania and is present only in the breeding season. Arrives from March and usually leaves in the second half of September.
- JanUnknown
- FebUnknown
- MarPresent
- AprPresent
- MayPresent
- JunPresent
- JulPresent
- AugPresent
- SepPresent
- OctUnknown
- NovUnknown
- DecUnknown
Source-verified months inform the seasonal filters. Local timing can vary. Unconfirmed months do not imply absence. * Event timing retained from the earlier entry, not yet source-verified.
How to find it
Watch waterside trees and reed edges at dusk, when birds fly out to feed.
Photography
General guidance based on the species’ behaviour, not a report of Nick’s personal field experience.
- Difficulty
- Moderate
- Starting shutter speed
- 1/1000 sec for perched birds; 1/2000 sec or faster for flight.
- Light
- Dusk activity means low light; accept higher ISO to keep a usable shutter speed.
- Ethics
- Keep away from colonies and do not flush roosting birds.
Practical starting points, not fixed rules.