Comments on: Great Blue Heron Rookery — where these big, beautiful herons nest

By: Susan Teefy

Susan Teefy — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 16:22:51 +0000

Here’s another place to see these beautiful birds nesting, with a bonus: Shadow Cliffs in Pleasanton. There is an island with a group of tall trees. In the trees are nests of great blue herons, plus great egrets and double cresated cormorants. They all seem to share this little island well, and since it’s an island, it keeps most predators away. While I was there, the local osprey perched on a nearby tree to eat her freshly caught fish.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3639/3479742155_f2c83ec6e5_b.jpg

By: Paula M.

Paula M. — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 19:31:12 +0000

oops! I had the dates reversed in my post above; it’s actually SUNDAYS in May and several SATURDAYS in June. Also note that they provide telescopes at key locations (and I seem to recall they also provided some binoculars for the length of the tour, but folks could play it safe and bring their own if they have them):

Info from calacademy site, on Heron Explainer Project tours:

Great Blue Heron Tours at Stow Lake
Every Sunday in May & Saturdays June 2, 9 & 16
10:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.
Heron observation and explanation continues at Stow Lake in Golden Gate Park thanks to Academy interns and Stow Lake Education Project Director Nancy DeStefanis, a heron expert. On Saturdays until the middle of June, visitors can peer through spotting scopes and gain insight into the lives of these majestic birds as they mate and hatch chicks on the island they have occupied since 1993. The Heron Explainers Project is cosponsored by the Academy of Sciences and the Golden Gate Audubon Society. Follow signs at the Stow Lake Boathouse to the Heron Explainers Project.

By: Paula M.

Paula M. — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 19:25:48 +0000

Another good place in the Bay Area to see great blue herons is at Golden Gate Park’s Stowe Lake in San Francisco.

On most Saturdays in May and Saturdays/Sundays in June there are free guided tours of the herons’ habitat. They nest on an “island” in the lake, safe from humans and most predators, but their nest is very visible with binoculars if you know where to look (the tour guides help you spot them; it’s amazing how well such huge birds can blend in with the environment otherwise!), and you can more easily see them flying to and from their nest, of course.

I went on the tour a few years ago, and highly recommend it.

More info here:
http://www.calacademy.org/exhibits/audubon/special_programs.html

Also see an old interview on sfgate with the founder of the “Heron Explainer Project.”