Herons are mean bastards! I've seen them eat ducklings one by one in front of small children in Battersea Park and in the field out the back of my folks' place they hunt mice and voles. Weird seeing a tall beautiful bird gulping down a mid-size vole.
I like herons too. This amazed me when I saw it in Amsterdam, having only ever experienced the skittish ones I see here
https://www.theguardian.com/cities/gallery/2017/jun/05/urban-herons-amsterdam-in-pictures
Might have been posted before, good pics