A bird lover has taught an orphaned baby heron to fly by flapping his arms and pretending to try to take off. Gary Zammit came to the rescue after the grey heron's family was killed in a storm.

He gave the heron, who he named Dude, flying lessons by running alongside, flapping his arms and squawking. Dude copied his new surrogate dad - and eventually took to the skies at Gwel an Mor wildlife park in Portreath, Cornwall.

Gary, 42, said: "It was a bit like teaching a child to ride a bike. I ended up getting really involved and running alongside flapping my arms like an idiot.

"Eventually he began half flying at a height of around 3ft and he's gone on from there. Now he'll soar around the buildings and go up to 70ft until I call him back down. It's a wonderful sight."

Gary found Dude close to death under a storm-lashed nest in March and reared him on a diet of small fish. The bird was so tiny it could fit into the palm of his hand but now stands 3ft tall with a 4ft wingspan.

The heron is too tame to be released back into the wild but Gary added: "I feel very proud of what he's achieved and I'm just glad I was there to help him through the first few flaps."
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Aww, what a great story..Herons are among the most intelligent birds.. Amazing that this man thought to do this, and very amazing bird

very cute

Umm how do we not know the bird would have learned to fly either way on its own? Tis like leading a horse to water and then trying to teach it to drink by dunking your head in not knowing the horse would drink when it was thirsty and full ready to.

good question ! i always wondered wether babies would walk "anyway" if we didn't teach them ?

Yay! That's great........ but naming the bird "Dude"??

You know... it's hard to say if he'd learn to fly on his own or not. I had a blue and gold macaw who has a full set of wings and by the time he was 14 years old, he still didn't realize he could fly. He waddled around on the ground every where he went.

However, it is known that smaller birds, can catch an air current with their wings which can lift them right off the ground and they're flying. It's harder with larger, heavier bodied birds like herons or even my macaw.

Pele (my B&G) was an expert climber, but he always climbed down from the high places he got to. I have no idea if he ever would have learned to fly. Even outside he just waddled around. Although, I suppose if I left him unsupervised, he might have been tempted to climb up on a tree or something and spread his wings and fly... he just never did, not in 14 years.

Now, Herons, they don't climb and they're too big to get loft from the ground accidnetally... I think it's quite possible that if he wasnt' taught to fly, he might have lived his life a ground bird.

Well I think it is a cool story. I wouls have loved seeing him running and flapping his arms. Thats funny I don't care who you are

I don't think so. Not correctly, at least. My parents taught me to walk a little late in life, I believe. I was also taught to walk in a strange way, so now people who pay attention notice that I waddle a little.

Maybe a heron taught you to walk?

I wonder if he jerked his head back an forth too