Great Blue Heron

Birdwatching Lowellians are usually familiar with this beautiful bird. Herons are often found along the Merrimack and Concord Rivers or within the lock chambers along the Pawtucket Canal. It is easiest to spot herons around sunrise and sunset, when they do most of their fishing in Lowell's plentiful rivers and canals.

The great blue heron is remarkably adaptive and can live in a variety of climates - rural and urban, tropical and frigid. This species of heron has a particularly varied diet, allowing it to live in colder regions that others cannot live in. It slowly wades through shallow water with its long, stilt-like legs waiting patiently for a fish to swim close. It then uses its long, flexible neck to quickly and precisely pluck its prey from the water with one quick strike. The biggest threat to the heron is loss of habitat as human cities and suburbs expand. Thanks to the nearby Merrimack and Concord Rivers - which provide food and shelter for the birds - some herons have managed to make a home for themselves in Lowell.

There are no significant visible differences between male and female great blue herons, though males tend to be slightly larger. Young herons tend to have much darker feathers on their face, neck and crown. Males are in charge of picking the spot for a nest, usually in very tall trees near water. It then stretches its neck, puffs up its feathers and occasionally swings twigs around in its beak to attract a female, who then builds the nest.

Herons often settle close together; this group of nests is called a rookery. Heron populations are not currently threatened and have been stable. They used to be hunted because their considerable size made them an easy target, but this happens rarely today.

---