Great Blue Heron

Great Blue Heron in Michigan

Ardea herodias

Identification. Tall, gray-blue wading bird with long neck, dagger-like yellow bill, and slow, deliberate movements. In flight, neck is folded back against body, distinguishing it from cranes.

Status in Michigan. Common breeding migrant; some winter on open water. Great Blue Heron is the most widespread heron in Michigan and is present in every county where suitable wetland habitat exists. Breeding colonies on isolated tree islands can hold dozens of pairs. Some birds winter on the Lower Peninsula along open water below dams and in the Detroit River.

Habitat. Marshes, river edges, lake shorelines, agricultural ditches with fish or amphibian prey.

Where to find Great Blue Heron. Visible at virtually any productive wetland across Michigan from April through October. Notable heronries at Shiawassee NWR and Pointe Mouillee.

Best Michigan counties for Great Blue Heron. Saginaw, Bay, Monroe, Wayne, Macomb. Click any county above to see recent Great Blue Heron sightings and hotspot information.

Conservation. Stable, abundant. Breeding colonies (heronries) are vulnerable to disturbance and are protected through Michigan Audubon Society monitoring programs.

The sightings table below this section pulls live Great Blue Heron reports from eBird across all 83 Michigan counties, refreshed every 15 minutes. For comprehensive historical records and global range information, the eBird species profile and Cornell Lab of Ornithology Birds of the World account are the authoritative references.

Edited by Chris Izworski, Bay City, Michigan. Sightings data from eBird, updated every 15 minutes.