Great Blue Heron Rookery

Great Blue Heron Rookery

Great Blue Herons and their rookeries are often associated with beaver ponds. In fact, biologists have documented a 100% correlation between Great Blue Heron rookeries and beaver wetlands in Voyageurs National Park. Heron populations have benefited greatly from the recovery of beaver, who have created the swamps and meadows Herons utilize for foraging and nesting. With 50% of Wisconsin’s wetlands having been destroyed in the last few hundred years, beavers are currently an important nature-based tool to create, and recreate, those lost wetlands, returning healthy habitat on the landscape for Herons and the 70% of Wisconsin’s wildlife that depend on them during all, or part, of their life cycle.

Great Blue Herons wade slowly or stand statue-like in shallow water while hunting fish and other prey, such as mice and frogs. They fly slowly and maneuver soundlessly while landing on their nests, which belies their large size. Herons can have a wingspan as long as 79″.

Beaver Hollow hosts a large Heron rookery with 15 active nests. Visitors will be able to view the rookery from the safety of the boardwalk, once installation is complete. Herons are early nesters in our area. Chicks have hatched and their parents are busy feeding them day and night. Interestingly, Great Blue Herons can hunt at night due to a high percentage of rod-type photoreceptors in their eyes that give them night vision.