Coastal Resource Information System

Great Blue Heron

The Great Blue Heron occurs throughout the study area year round, and is low to moderately vulnerable to oil spills (King and Sanger 1979). Fouling of belly and leg feathers can occur if oil contaminates foraging areas (e.g. Estuaries and mudflats). Mortality of oiled birds would likely be high from ingestion and fouling.

Great Blue Herons spend much of their time in terrestrial habitats. This feature of their behaviour potentially reduces their exposure to spilled oil. Great Blue Herons are generally not vulnerable to oil cleanup because they can move freely to other areas. Nest trees are not usually located next to marine shorelines, but if they are (and rookeries move periodically) then those birds could be subjected to disturbances. Abandonment of nesting colonies due to disturbance by humans is possible.

The description below is from The Birds of British Columbia Volume 1 Nonpasserines Introduction, Loons through Waterfowl by R. Wayne Campbell, Neil K. Dawe, Ian McTaggart-Cowan, John M. Cooper, Gary W. Kaiser and Michael C.E. McNall.

The Great Blue Heron is widely distributed along the coast, including Vancouver Island and the Queen Charlotte Islands. It is found in a variety of salt, brackish, and freshwater environments. On the coast it frequents sheltered and shallow bays, lagoons, inlets, coves, tidal mudflats, sloughs, and marshes. Jetties and log booms are frequently used as communal roosting sites. (Photo credits: Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks, Province of British Columbia)