NATURAL HISTORY, IDENTIFICATION AND GENERAL SPECIES INFORMATION

Birdweb. Seattle Audubon Society
www.birdweb.org/birdweb/species.asp?id=41
» Information on identification, natural history and distribution in Washington State.

Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife
www.wa.gov/wdfw/wildwatch/heroncam/heron_facts.html
» Natural history information and tips for watching great blue herons.

Herons Forever
www.heronsforever.net/
» Natural history and information on the heronry at the Black River Riparian Area in Renton.

All About Birds. Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology
www.birds.cornell.edu/programs/AllAboutBirds/
BirdGuide/Great_Blue_Heron_dtl.html
» Information on identification, natural history, North American distribution and song recording.

USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center
www.mbr-pwrc.usgs.gov/Infocenter/i1940id.html
» Information on identification, natural history, North American distribution and song recording.

Blue Heron Bibliography - California Academy of Sciences Library
www.calacademy.org/research/library/biodiv/biblio/heron.htm
» Links to natural history websites and a list of books and videos on great blue herons.

Animal Tracks of Humbolt County
www.bear-tracker.com/heron.html
» Pictures of great blue heron tracks and natural history information.

GREAT BLUE HERONS ON VIDEO

Washington Dept. of Fish and Wildlife WildWatch Cams
www.wa.gov/wdfw/wildwatch/heroncam/index.html
» Video clips with live footage available during the breeding season.

Junglewalk.com
www.junglewalk.com/frames.asp
» Many video clips, audio clips, pictures and links.

GREAT BLUE HERON ECOLOGY - LINKS TO GROUPS CONDUCTING RESEARCH, MANAGEMENT REPORTS AND ONLINE JOURNAL ARTICLES

Washington Dept. Fish and Wildlife Priority Habitats and Species.
www.wa.gov/wdfw/hab/phs/vol4/gbheron.htm
» Report - Management Recommendations for Washington's Priority Species, Volume IV: Birds – the Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias).

Columbia Basin Fish and Wildlife Compensation Program
www.cbfishwildlife.org/reports/teaser.php?report_id=371
» Report - Breeding Inventory and Habitat Assessment of the Great Blue Herons in the Columbia River Basin.

The Heron Working Group. Simon Fraser University
www.sfu.ca/biology/wildberg/hwg/abouthwg.html
» The Heron Working Group is a consortium of individuals from university, government and conservation organizations interested in the conservation of the Great Blue Heron. Includes a list of publications, natural history information and links to other sites.

Centre for Wildlife Ecology at Simon Fraser University
www.sfu.ca/biology/wildberg/species/GBHeron.html
» Research includes responses of breeding herons to disturbance from humans and predators, and the long-term impact such disturbances will have on the productivity and distribution of heron breeding colonies in British Columbia.

Canadian Wildlife Service
www.speciesatrisk.gc.ca/
search/speciesDetails_e.cfm?SpeciesID=292
» Report – Species at Risk: The Great Blue Heron.

Canadian Wildlife Service
www.cws-scf.ec.gc.ca/publications/notes/217/index_e.cfm
» Report - Standardizing and interpreting nesting records for Great Blue Herons in British Columbia.

Canadian Wildlife Service
www.ecoinfo.ec.gc.ca/env_ind/region/herons/heron_e.cfm
» Report – Great Blue Heron, an indicator of wildlife sustainability in the Georgia Basin.

Breeding Bird Survey. USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center
www.mbr-pwrc.usgs.gov/bbs/bbs.html

Christmas Bird Count. Data for 2002. National Audubon Society
www.audubon.org/bird/cbc/index.html

Everglades/Florida Bay Watershed Management. Wading Bird Population Responses
www.sfwmd.gov/org/wrp/
wrp_evg/projects/wading_bird_pop_resp.html
» Summary and link to survey data evaluating the response in wading bird populations to changing hydrology regimes in the Everglades.

Cuyahoga Valley National Park
www.nps.gov/cuva/management/rmprojects/heron.htm
» Great Blue Heron survey and protocol for local monitoring efforts in Cuyahoga Valley National Park.

Breeding Birds of the Platte River Valley - Great Blue Heron -- (Ardea herodias) USGS Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center
www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/distr/birds/
platte/species/ardehero.htm
» Summery of a survey of a colony located on the Platte River with information on impact of habitat alteration on reproductive success.

Audubon Canyon Ranch, California. North Bay Counties Heron and Egret Project
www.egret.org/res1.html
» Conducts research on great blue heron colonies in the San Francisco Bay area.

Wading Bird Monitoring, Isla Alcatraz Project, Prescott College
www.prescott.edu/highlights/kino/
Isla_Alcatraz/wading%20birds.html
» Summary of wading bird survey at Isla Alcatraz, California.

The Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve
www.elkhornslough.org/rookery/rookery.htm
» Summary of rookery monitoring at the Elkhorn Slough Rookery.

US Fish and Wildlife Service. Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge
loxahatchee.fws.gov/Biology/research.asp
» Monitors heron colony at the refuge.

GREAT BLUE HERON PHYSIOLOGY - LINKS TO GROUPS CONDUCTING RESEARCH AND ONLINE JOURNAL ARTICLES

Disease in Great Blue Herons. Endangered Species Recovery Council.
www.esrc.org/worksinprog/herons.htm
» Brief summary of research into a disease called steatitis (Yellow Fat Disease) that is affecting birds in southern California.

USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center
www.pwrc.usgs.gov/resshow/rattner/bioeco/gbheron.htm
» Report - Biological and ecotoxicological characteristics of terrestrial vertebrate species residing in estuaries – the Great Blue Heron.

USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center
www.pwrc.usgs.gov/prodabs/ab10010302/abs5767.htm
» Research paper abstract - Investigation of eggshell thickness and biochemical indicators of contaminant exposure in Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) from Mason Neck National Wildlife Refuge.

Environmental Health Perspectives Volume 103, Supplement 4, May 1995
ehpnet1.niehs.nih.gov/docs/1995/Suppl-4/henshel-abs.html
» Research paper - Morphometric Abnormalities in Brains of Great Blue Heron Hatchlings Exposed in the Wild to PCDDs.

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Damage Assessment and Restoration Program
www.darp.noaa.gov/neregion/chalkpdf/cpar1987.pdf
» Research Paper - Reproductive Success of Great Blue Herons (Ardia herodias) nesting in Swanson Creek, Maryland, during the Chalk Point oil spill.

Oak Ridge National Laboratory
www.ornl.gov/info/press_releases/archive/mr19951019-01.html
» Press release - Reproduction of fish-eating birds unaffected by moderately contaminated fish, ORNL study shows.