Will the Purple Heron nest in Creux de Terre?

Yesterday, we went in Creux de Terre Nature Reserve in Chavornay. It was a beautiful sunny day and we had a good surprise to be able to observe Purple Herons preparing their nest. Grey Herons can be spotted almost everywhere bur it is not so easy to spot the Purple Heron in Switzerland. There are a few place such La Grande Cariçaie and Les Creux de Terre where you can observe them. Usually they are well hidden, passing by, you might see a single bird but rarely a couple. That day we could watch them really well from the observation towers, going back and forth to prepare the nest. We couldn’t see well the nest, so we have no clue if there are any eggs or babies in it.

The question that I ask myself, is will they be able to nest and survive the predator?
In fact another birdwatcher told me he just spotted a fox near the tower, that could be a danger for the Purple Heron. We could observe as well a Western Marsh Harrier during a couple of hour. As the Purple Heron sometimes do, the Western Marsh Harrier can feed from babies found in other birds nests so it could as the fox represent a danger for the potential small herons.

I will return there as it’s really close to where I live and keep you informed about that Purple Heron couple.