Taxonomy/Description

Great Blue Herons are the largest herons that can be found in North America. When standing, they can be approximately 60 centimeters tall. They also have a wingspan that ranges from about 97 to 137 centimeters, and can weight from 2.1 to 2.5 kilograms. The bill of a Great Blue Heron is long, pointed, and yellowish in color and their legs are long and dark green. In addition, their necks are often curved in an “S” during both rest and flight. They have grey-blue upper bodies, and their necks are streaked with a combination of white, black, and rust- brown. Also, the back of their necks have grey feathers on them and their thighs have feathers of a chestnut color. In addition, they have a puffy plume if feathers behind their head.

photo Ivan Andrijevic & Michael Noonan

Habitat/Diet

The Great Blue Heron can be founding a variety of regions near inland sources of water, such as along rivers, lakes, and saltwater seacoasts, and in marshes and swamps. This habitat is key to a Great Blue Heron’s diet because it contains many fish, frogs, salamanders, lizards, snakes, birds, small mammals, shrimp, crabs, crayfish, dragonflies, grasshoppers, and many other aquatic insects. Great Blue Herons locate their food by sight and usually swallow it whole.

Behavior/Reproduction

Great Blue Herons breed throughout North and Central America, and the Caribbean. They nest in colonies up in trees or large bushes that stand near water. Within these rookeries, Great Blue Herons are extremely territorial and aggressively defend the area around their nests. They breed once per year from the month of March through May in the northern parts of their range and from November through April in the southern parts of their range. They can lay from 2 to 7 eggs per season, with birds living further north tending to lay more eggs. Both parents take turns incubating the eggs and then, once the eggs are hatched, both parents care for and feed the chicks. Great Blue Herons chicks take from 60 to 82 days to fledge. Both males and females reach sexual or reproductive maturity at about 22 months of age.

photos Faith Burns & Lauren Mosier

Where to see them in WNY

Some good places to find the Great Blue Heron is Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge that contains several rookeries, and Beaver Island State Park on Grand Island where there is a small rookery across the river during the summer. However it is generally a good idea to look for Great Blue Herons where ever there is fresh water for them to forage and these birds will be found in these areas all year round.
 

photo Michael Noonan