Look to the sky and you’ll note the return of our majestic, prehistoric looking birds we know as Pacific Great Blue Heron, indicating Spring is truly on its way. Although these herons are non-migratory, when they gather for nesting season it is a sight to behold.
With their arrival, Cowichan Estuary Nature Centre will be activating our heron camera which is carefully nestled high on a pole at the edge of the rookery – the largest rookery on Vancouver Island! You’ll want to look sooner than later, as once the big leaf maple trees leaf out, visibility is a little trickier. “Our” herons primarily use maple, alder & conifer trees for nesting, resting, and nest
building/ repairs. One tree has 16+ nests occupying its limbs. Watching the acquisition of one stick from their “building supply store”, then the delicate art of negotiating their 5’ wingspan, stick in beak, through the forest is an absolute wonder.
Did you know that herons have an amazing array of vocalizations? From the beak clacking, barking and cooing of meet & greet mating season to the squawking, grawking, shrieking and screaming at
hungry predators, they’ve got a sound for all reasons.
Velociraptors unite! And baby herons do look a little dinosaur-like, particularly when they first
hatch. Curious about the continuous low key “grawwk, grawwk” sound coming from the rookery?
It’s their inner heat regulation system. By vibrating their throats herons regulate their body temperature. Aside from being an essential part of the Cowichan Estuary ecosystem, this particular subspecies of Great Blue Heron, Pacifica, is also a blue listed species – considered vulnerable
to disturbance by humans and bald eagles.
Protecting habitat for nesting and foraging sites is critical. Their habitat ranges from salt and freshwater marshes, streams and lakes, to backyard ponds and open fields where frogs and other small amphibians are available.
Tune in to our web cam at cowichanestuary.ca to watch nesting activity, or come to Hecate Park for a picnic to observe them “real time”….low tide is especially good timing to observe them forage in the mud flats. Grrawwwkkk!
www.cowichanestuary.ca
Submitted by Kerrie Talbot and
Madeline Southern