THIS week's observations from readers have been full of sightings of herons and not just single birds but two or three together.

Herons begin their breeding season early in the year, often as early as February.

There are records of a pair nesting on their own among reeds, but most return to their heronry, which looks rather like a rookery but obviously the nests are much bigger.

I visited a heronry close to the M6, a couple of weeks ago during the high winds and rain. The brave birds were busy repairing their nests which had been damaged by the wind, but some seemed to be incubating eggs.

A few years ago a van shed its load of stationery which contained elastic bands. The weather was very wet and the herons obviously thought the elastic bands were worms.

A few days later I returned to the heronry to find that the birds had come to no harm but their droppings contained a lot of partially digested rubber bands.

I would like to hear from any Lancashire Evening Telegraph reader who has sightings of herons in East Lancashire. I would like to know how many are seen at one time and also their locations.