Graureiherkolonie bei Harsewinkel, Nature reserve in Harsewinkel, Germany

Graureiherkolonie bei Harsewinkel is a 4-hectare nature reserve about 1 km west of Harsewinkel and 100 m south of the Ems in the Kreis Gütersloh. It consists of deciduous, coniferous and mixed woodland around a near-natural still-water pond, with reedbeds and a large sedge fen of Carex elata at the shore. In 2014, 42 occupied grey heron nests stood in a pine-mixed forest in the middle of the reserve.

Grey herons built their first nests here in 1965, in a pine-mixed forest in the middle of what is now the reserve. In 2007 the roughly 4-hectare site was designated a nature reserve, initially limited until 2027, to conserve habitats for rare and endangered regional species.

The name refers to the grey heron colony itself, which shares the reserve with a pair of eagle-owls and a pair of kingfishers nesting in the same woodland. Visitors come for the heronry rather than for any tradition; the site is a designated nature reserve, so observation stays at a distance from the nests.

The reserve lies about 1 km west of Harsewinkel and roughly 100 m south of the Ems, in the Kreis Gütersloh. The 4-hectare area has been protected since 2007, with the designation initially running to 2027. The heron nests sit in a pine-mixed forest in the middle of the reserve, around a near-natural still water with reedbeds and sedge stands at its edge.

In 2014, 42 occupied grey heron nests were counted in a pine-mixed forest in the middle of the reserve. The same woodland also hosts a breeding pair of eagle-owls and a pair of kingfishers, so a visit can turn up three very different species within a few hectares.