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. As far as the
other physical features are concerned, Great blue herons
have short tails, long necks, legs, and wings, as well
as a long bill that tapers to a point at the end. The
bill of a Great blue heron has a yellowish color and
their legs are green. In addition, their necks are often
curved in an “S” during both rest and flight. Despite
their name, Great blue herons are not actually blue.
They have grey 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, the males have a puffy plume if
feathers behind their heads and are often slightly
larger than the females.
photo Ivan Andrijevic
Habitat/ Diet
The Great Blue Heron can be founding a variety of
regions. Although the Great Blue Heron lives near inland
sources of water, such as along rivers, lakes, and
saltwater seacoasts, and in marshes and swamps, they
often avoid marine habitats along the east coast. This
habitat is key to a Great Blue Heron’s diet because it
mainly consists of fish. Their diet also includes 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 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
heron chicks take from 60 to 82 days for it to fledge.
After that, both the males and females of this species reach
sexual or reproductive maturity at about 22 months of
age.
photo Ivan Andrijevic
Where to see them in WNY
One good place to find the Great blue heron is on the
Swallow Hollow Trail at the Iroquois National Wildlife
Refuge. From the parking lot, take the trail heading to
the left. Be sure to begin looking once you reach the
earthen dike; emergent marshes like this one are great
habitats for these birds.
photo M.
Noonan