The Pacific Blue Heron

On the coast of British Columbia the subspecies, Ardea herodias fannini, referred to as the Pacific Great Blue Heron, resides year-round.

The Vancouver, Stanley Park colony is a vital part of the south coast population. One-third of great blue herons worldwide live around the Salish Sea.

In 2022, 90 nests were occupied by a heron family, with approximately 61% of those nests successfully raising fledglings.

Herons are colonial nesting birds, which means groups of them nest close together in a colony or heronry. Generally, they prefer to nest in high trees, 20 to 50 metres above the ground, where they are safe from most predators.