The lower area of the river Neretva is a veritable birds’ paradise.
Ornithologists have found some 300 sorts of birds in the Neretva river basin, particularly in Hutovo Blato. Heron (Ardeidae) took an important position among these sorts, wading birds that live in flocks. There are 70 known sorts of herons, out of which number there are the following sorts to be found in the Neretva Delta: the purple heron (Ardea purpurea), often called locally the dallying heron, the gray heron (Ardea cinerea) called the azure, the great white heron (Casmerodius albus), the yellow heron (Ardeola ralloides), the white egret (Egretta garzetta), the Nycticorax nycticorax, the lxobrycus minutus and the bittern (Botaurus stellaris), often called looking-at-the-stars bittern. Herons build their nests near the water, on bushes and trees, and gather in colonies on the willow and reed bushes. Most of them can be found in the area of the lake Deransko. In the nesting seasons they look for food for themselves and their young in the whole wide area of the swamp, even flying to more distant places. They make the swamp colourful and interesting by their appearance. Fishermen consider them to be harmful to the fishing trade, but it has been proved that all the heron species feed on small and low-quality fish,, insects, amphibians and reptiles. When individual herons feel endangered, they press to the reed stalks and become almost invisible. While flying, herons bend their necks which gets the shape of the letter S, while stork fly with their necks stretched. Herons live long, up to the age of 60.
The Croatian name for the heron, čaplja, is of Panslavic origin, whereas other links to Indo-European languages have not been determined. There is surname derived from the bird’s name, Čapljić, and a town to the north of Hutovo Blato is called Čapljina, another derivation of čaplja. The alluvial river basin of the Neretva is a singular area, both by its appearance and significance. In many places in the valley people have distributed its appearance by their activities. The unique ornithological wildlife refuge of the Neretva territory should be preserved at any cost.
