As nice spring weather returned to B.C. this past week, a crucial group of great blue herons also returned to Stanley Park where they spend the summer.
These large birds have been returning to nest in Vancouver’s famous park for 24 years now.
The Vancouver park board stated in a news release that the heron colony has settled in once again for the 24th year to raise their young above Park Lane near the tennis courts.
Despite facing eagle attacks and a late nesting season due to winter weather, the colony successfully raised 61 fledglings last year.
The park board emphasized the importance of the heron colony's resiliency, as 80% of British Columbia’s great blue heron population is found in and around the Fraser River, making the productivity of this heronry crucial for the subspecies' viability.
The Pacific great blue heron colony has returned to Stanley Park in Vancouver for the 24th consecutive year, choosing the area near the tennis courts as their nesting ground.
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The chicks will soon begin to hatch, and people have been able to watch this on the park’s heron cam for the past nine years. The close-up cameras allow viewers to witness daily behaviors of courting and mating, nest building, egg laying, and hatching.
The public can control the bird's-eye views of 40 nests through the cameras, and even zoom in on the spectacle. The cameras can be accessed at vancouver.ca/heron-cam Stanley Park Ecology Society.
initially documented Pacific great blue herons in Stanley Park in 1921, and the colony has moved to different nesting grounds over the years before finally settling in the current location in 2001.
The population of these herons has been decreasing since the 1980s due to nesting problems, eagle attacks, human disruption, and habitat loss.
There are around 4,000 to 5,000 nesting adult herons in Canada, with most living around the Salish Sea. Unlike other great blue herons, the Pacific subspecies does not migrate.
The Stanley Park Ecology Society has been helping protect the heron since 2004, working alongside the park board and B.C. Wildlife Service.
The park board also provides advice for park visitors on how to watch the herons while allowing them to live and raise their young in peace.
From mid-March to mid-July, park users should watch the herons from outside of fenced areas around their nests, avoid making noise or playing loud music within 30 meters of the colony, keep dogs on a leash, and avoid flying drones nearby. (Drones are not allowed in parks without a permit.)
If you see a fallen or injured chick, you can report it on the Van311 app or by calling 311. Do not approach or handle any injured wildlife.
