Are there great blue herons (Ardea herodias) in the Park?
This is the second largest long-legged bird found in the west (next to sandhill crane). The great blue heron has grey-blue feathers and a long neck, legs and bill. The adult has a white forehead and a six foot wingspan. The heron eats fish, small mammals, frogs, large insects, even ducklings and rats. It usually nests in a colony. Great blue heron habitat can be found in marshes, streams, ditches, and tidal mudflats. There is a heron colony near the main tennis courts and VPB offices, with numerous nests (a map of the nests can be found on the Great Blue Heron section of this Web site.
This is the second largest long-legged bird found in the west (next to sandhill crane). The great blue heron has grey-blue feathers and a long neck, legs and bill. The adult has a white forehead and a six foot wingspan. The heron eats fish, small mammals, frogs, large insects, even ducklings and rats. It usually nests in a colony. Great blue heron habitat can be found in marshes, streams, ditches, and tidal mudflats. There is a heron colony near the main tennis courts and VPB offices, with numerous nests (a map of the nests can be found on the Great Blue Heron section of this Web site.
