Species

Great blue heron

Ardea herodias

The tall, grey-blue heron of every Georgia shoreline, standing motionless until it strikes.

Photo Frank Schulenburg (opens in a new tab) / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 (opens in a new tab)

Predation

At a glance

Size: About 1 to 1.4 m tall; wingspan about 1.7 to 2 m
Weight: About 2 to 2.5 kg
Habitat: Marshes, rivers, lakes, ponds, ditches and fields
Diet: Fish, frogs, snakes, small mammals and birds
In Georgia: Common all year statewide
Voice: A deep, harsh croak
Rabies vector: No

Identification

Key marks: Very tall; grey-blue body; white face with a black stripe over the eye; dagger-like yellow bill; flies with neck folded
Told apart from: Sandhill crane, which is grey with a red crown and flies with its neck out
Told apart from: Tricolored heron, which is smaller with a white belly
Where to look: Almost any water, and fields where it hunts voles

Behaviour

Great blue herons stand or walk slowly in shallow water, then strike with lightning speed. They also hunt in fields for voles and gophers.

They nest in colonies high in trees, sometimes with hundreds of nests together.

Why they matter

The great blue heron is the largest heron in North America and a top predator in wetlands. It eats many fish, frogs and rodents, and its colonies are among the most striking sights in Georgia's swamps and lakes.

Reproduction and lifecycle

Nest — A large platform of sticks high in a tree, in colonies
Eggs — Usually three to six
Incubation — About 27 days
Chicks — Fed by both parents
Flight — At about eight to ten weeks
Lifespan — Wild birds over twenty years are recorded

Living around people

Herons visit garden ponds for fish; netting or deep sides protect ornamental fish without harming the bird.
A heron tangled in fishing line needs a rehabilitator; its dagger-like bill is aimed at the eyes of anyone who handles it.

Misconceptions

Herons are cranes. They are not closely related; herons fly with necks folded, cranes with necks outstretched.

Related species

Seasonal activity

When this species is breeding, and when there are nests on the ground. Mowing during the shaded months is how most nests are found.

Breeding and active nests by month for this species
	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Breeding	Jan: no	Feb: no	Mar: no	Apr: no	May: no	Jun: no	Jul: no	Aug: no	Sep: no	Oct: no	Nov: no	Dec: no
Active nests	Jan: no	Feb: no	Mar: no	Apr: no	May: no	Jun: no	Jul: no	Aug: no	Sep: no	Oct: no	Nov: no	Dec: no
Notes	Resident; colonies occupied in the south	Nesting begins	Nesting	Chicks	Chicks	Young fledging	Young dispersing	Present	Present	Northern birds arriving	Present	Present

Where it lives

Recorded in 92 states and provinces. Each one links to the other animals there, and to the rehabilitators licensed for them.

Canada

If you found one

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