Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias)


Group	Bitterns and Herons
Code	ABNGA04010
Order	Ciconiiformes
Family	Ardeidae
Author	Linnaeus, 1758
Rank	G5 (definitions)
Occurrence	SM (definitions)
Scale	N (definitions)

County List:


Western UP	all
Eastern UP	all
Northern LP	all
Southern LP	all

Rule:

Forested or Nonforested Landscapes

Foraging and Nesting Habitat Requirements may be distributed over the NEIGHBORHOOD

Foraging Habitat:
      Lake 
      or Pond 
      or River 
      or Any Emergent Wetland 
      or Sedge Meadow

Nesting Habitat 1st alternative:
      (Any Lowland Deciduous (Sm Saw or Lg Saw or Uneven)) 
      or (Mixed Lowland Hardwood (Sm Saw or Lg Saw or Uneven))

Nesting Habitat 2nd alternative:
      (Lake or Pond or River)
   containing
      Snags

view decision rule term definitions

Habitat List:

Habitats	Regen	Sap	Pole	Sm Saw	Lg Saw	Uneven
Aspen	no	no	no	no	no	-
Paper Birch	no	no	no	no	no	-
Oak	no	no	no	no	no	no
Assorted Hardwoods	no	no	no	no	no	no
Northern Hardwoods	no	no	no	no	no	no
Spruce/Fir	no	no	no	no	no	no
Hemlock	no	no	no	no	no	no
Jack Pine	no	no	no	no	no	no
Red Pine	no	no	no	no	no	no
White Pine	no	no	no	no	no	no
Conifer Plantations	no	no	no	no	no	-
Mixed Upland Hardwoods	no	no	no	no	no	no
Mixed Northern Hardwoods	no	no	no	no	no	no
Mixed Upland Conifer	no	no	no	no	no	no
Mixed Pine	no	no	no	no	no	no
Swamp Hardwoods	no	no	no	YES	YES	YES
Balsam Poplar & Swamp Aspen & Swamp Birch	no	no	no	YES	YES	YES
Bottomland Hardwoods	no	no	no	YES	YES	YES
Tamarack	no	no	no	no	no	no
Northern White Cedar	no	no	no	no	no	no
Black Spruce	no	no	no	no	no	no
Mixed Lowland Hardwoods	no	no	no	YES	YES	YES
Mixed Lowland Conifer	no	no	no	no	no	no
Non-Forested	Lake, Pond, River, Marsh 1, Marsh 2 (MARSH), Sedge Meadow
Special Features	Snags, Riparian

view size class definitions

Literature:

Scharf, W. C. 1991. Great Blue Heron. Pages 108-109 In: R. Brewer, G. A. McPeek, and R. J. Adams, Jr. (eds.) The atlas of breeding birds of Michigan. Michigan State University Press, East Lansing. 594 pp.

Habitat: Colonies of Great Blue Herons nest in trees in Michigan. Deciduous hardwood trees are preferred in the southern part of the state. Mostly conifers and softwood deciduous trees (such as birch and aspen) are used in the north where such trees dominate lowlands and islands. Nest trees range in height from 8 to 30 m.

Foraging areas with fish and amphibians for food are an essential part of Great Blue Heron habitat, although these birds also eat a great variety of other animal foods including small mammals and invertebrates.

DeGraaf, R. M. and D. D. Rudis. 1986. New England wildlife: habitat, natural history, and distribution. GTR NE-108. Broomall, PA:USDA, Forest Service, Northeastern Forest Experiment Station. 491 pp.

Habitat: Breeding: Shallow shores of ponds, lakes, streams rivers, wet meadows, wooded swamps, fresh bays, and marshes. Wintering: mainly coastal areas with bare (snow-free) ground and open water.

Special Habitat Requirements: Generally require tall tree for nesting.

Kaufman, K. 1996. Lives of North American Birds. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, Massachusetts. 675 pp.

Habitat: Marshes, swamps, shores, tideflats. Very adaptable. Forages in any kind of calm freshwaters or slow-moving rivers, also in shallow coastal bays. Nests in trees or shrubs near water, sometimes on ground in areas free of predators.

Diet: Highly variable and adaptable. Eats mostly fish, but also frogs, salamanders, turtles, snakes, insects, rodents, birds. Has been seen stalking voles and gophers in fields, capturing rails at edge of marsh, eating many species of small waterbirds.

Nest: Site highly variable, usually in trees 20-60 feet above ground or water; sometimes in low shrubs, sometimes on ground (on predator free islands), sometimes well above 100 feet in tree. Nest is a platform of sticks, sometimes quite large.