In North America, Alberta has been home to four of the 17 species of herons that are common. There are six more that are uncommon or unintentional. This handbook will aid you identify and understand these long-legged birds.
Herons, which may be found in saltwater, freshwater, or even peering into your backyard pond for a quick meal, are water-loving birds.
However, a net is your best bet if you’re having difficulty because many of your fish herons are protected.
Herons prefer to hunt alone by standing motionless and waiting or dashing about to stir up the food, but they often nest in huge colonies called heronries.
A collection of herons is known by a variety of names, including “rookery,” “battery,” “hedge,” “siege,” and “pose” to name a few.
You might want to learn more about the ducks, swans, and pelicans you may see in Alberta if you like seeing waterbirds.
10 Species Of Heron In Alberta
1. Great Blue Heron
During the breeding season, from April to October, Great Blue Herons can be found in Alberta. On the summer checklists submitted by birdwatchers for the province, they are found in 8% of checklists.
The Great Blue Heron is the biggest heron native to North America, and they are very huge and majestic birds.
Their face is white, and their crest or plume extends from the front of their eyes to the back of their heads. Yellow-orangish is the color of their bills.
Long gray necks with black and white streaking in the front, grayish-blue bodies, and long gray legs characterize them.
- Ardea herodias
- Length: 46 – 52 in (117 – 132 cm)
- Weight: 128 oz (3628 g)
- Wingspan: 77 – 82 in (196 – 208 cm)
Most US states have Great Blue Herons throughout the year, but during the breeding season in the Mid-West and Canada, they migrate south.
In Florida, the Great White Heron is a white morph of the Great Blue Heron.
Great Blue Herons may be seen in a variety of wetland habitats. Fresh and saltwater marshes, mangrove swamps, flooded marshes, lake borders, and shorelines are all possibilities.
Fish, frogs, salamanders, shrimps, crabs, dragonflies, grasshoppers, and other aquatic insects make up the majority of Great Blue Herons’ diets.
While wading or standing in water, they catch their prey. Hovering over water, diving into it, leaping from perches, and floating on the surface are all examples of how they may move about.
Great Blue Heron colonies are found high up in trees near water, where nests may be found. Twigs and sticks are used to build the nests, which are then lined with softer material.
Great Blue Herons may periodically rebuild and expand their nests, which they reuse.
After that, the female lays two to seven eggs. For around four weeks, both parents incubate the eggs.
Fun Fact: Dramatic wing-outstretched displays with their heads thrown back are used by Great Blue Herons to protect their feeding grounds.
2. Black-crowned Night-Heron
During the breeding season, black-crowned night-herons may be found in southern Alberta, accounting for 2% of summer checklists. They arrive in the beginning of April and begin to move in October.
The typical description of the heron family does not apply to Black-crowned Night-Herons, or simply Night Herons. It has a shorter bill, neck, and legs than its close relative.
Black caps extend from a white line above the black bills of adult Black-crowned Night-herons.
The lores (in front of the eye, towards the beak) are green-blue, and their eyes are red. The back is darker than the rest of their body. They have yellow legs and feet.
The head and back become black, then glossy blue-green, and two or three white feathers emerge on the crown during the breeding season. The legs and feet become red or pink, while the lores turn black as well.
The overall color of juveniles is dull grayish-brown with streaks and spots.
- Nycticorax nycticorax
- Length: 25 – 28 in (64 – 71 cm)
- Weight: 38.8 oz (1100 g)
- Wingspan: 44 – 45 in (112 – 114 cm)
The range of black-crowned night-herons is enormous. Before heading south, they breed in the United States and Canada. Along the coasts, some may be found all year.
In wetland environments such as shallow freshwater or brackish rivers, you may spot Black-crowned Night-herons. Artificial habitats such as reservoirs, canals, and fish ponds are also home to these species.
Black-crowned Night-herons eat whatever they can catch, such as crayfish, fish, and even turtles or worms. They are night feeders.
Males build nests for Black-crowned Night-herons in bushes and trees in preparation for selecting their mates.
The female will deposit up to seven eggs over the course of two days. For about twenty-four days, both parents incubate the eggs after they are laid. For around three weeks, the parents will look after their infant.
After that, the female will deposit up to seven eggs every two days. For around twenty-four days, both parents begin to incubate the eggs once they are placed. For approximately three weeks, the parents will look after their infant.
Fun Fact: For more than a century, the National Zoo in Washington, D.C., has hosted a colony of Black-crowned Night-herons during the summer months.
3. American Bittern
From April through till October, American Bitterns may be seen in Alberta. Summer checklists include 1% of these items.
In the spring of the American Bittern, you may catch a glimpse of them before you hear the weird watery boom calls. Below are a few examples, check them out:
The Heron family includes the American Bittern, which is a chunky, medium-sized bird.
Because of their brown striped and mottled patterning, as well as their capacity to remain motionless amid the reeds with their head tilted up, they resemble the reeds they hide in.
They have short legs and yellow eyes that change orange during courtship.
- Botaurus lentiginosus
- Length: 23 in (58 cm)
- Weight: 25.6 oz (726 g)
- Wingspan: 42 – 50 in (107 – 127 cm)
Before heading to the Gulf Coast and Mexico, American Bitterns breed in Canada and northern US states.
In shallow, freshwater marshes and wetlands with tall reeds, you may find American Bitterns virtually entirely.
To detect them, focus your eyes on the margins of lakes and ponds among the dense vegetation.
Fish, crustaceans, insects, amphibians, and small mammals make up the American Bitterns’ diet. They wait quietly and still among the reeds for their prey to approach, then spring forward quickly to capture them in their bills as they forage stealthily among the reeds.
American Bittern Calls: Listen to their odd watery boom calls. It’s one of the most unique bird calls around.
Water nests of American Bitterns are concealed among coarse vegetation, and they can be found on the water. Females pick a nest site and construct it using available reeds, sedges, cattails, and other plants.
They lay seven eggs and spend approximately twenty-six days incubating them. Fertilized eggs are directly fed into the chicks’ mouths by the mothers after being born. They fled the nest after two weeks and are fully developed in six to seven weeks.
Fun Fact: Like the reeds that conceal them to hide themselves, American Bitterns point upwards and sway gently from side to side.
4. Great Egret
During the breeding season, from May to October, Great Egrets may be found in Alberta’s south, however they are uncommon.
Males have neon green facial skin and long, wispy feathers (aigrettes) extending from their backs to their tails during the breeding season, when Great Egrets are at their finest.
They are large, all-white herons, which is why they’re often called Great White Herons. They are also called common egrets. These large birds are white, with dagger-like, long, bright yellow bills and long, black legs and feet.
They’re enormous, and people refer to them as Great White Herons because of their pure white color. Common egrets are another name for them. White with dagger-like, long, bright yellow bills and long, black legs and feet, these enormous birds are huge.
Males, females, and juveniles all have similar looks.
- Ardea alba
- Length: 37 – 41 in (94 – 104cm)
- Weight: 59.96 oz (1699 g)
- Wingspan: 54 – 55 in (137 – 140 cm)
The Great Egret’s range extends across the globe. Those in the southern and coastal United States stay there throughout the year, but those in more colder regions migrate south.
Great Egrets may be found in both freshwater and saltwater marshes, as well as fish ponds, but they are most common in freshwater marshes.
Fish, frogs, small mammals, crustaceans, and insects make up the majority of Great Egret’s diet. Great Egrets stand motionless on the water, waiting and scoping out their prey, before striking and spearing it with their long bills.
In colonies, Great Egret nests can be found. To protect their nests from predators like raccoons, they are usually placed high up in trees, preferably on islands.
Stick, twig, and stem marsh plants are used to make them. Both parents incubate the eggs for around twenty-five days, which they lay up to six eggs.
Fun Fact: Because of their long white feathers (aigrettes), the Great Egret was nearly hunted to extinction.
5. Yellow-crowned Night-Heron
In Alberta, yellow-crowned night-herons are considered uncommon or accidental, with only one record from 2021 in Calgary.
Yellow crowns with two plumes protruding from the heads of adult Yellow-crowned Night Herons. Their black bills contrast with their yellow eyes. Their rest of the skulls are black, with a little white patch on either side of their eyes.
As they mature, their eyes become red, starting with yellow and progressing to orange and red.
Their wings have a scaled pattern and they have gray-blue bodies. During the breeding season, their legs grow longer and turn coral, pink, or red.
Juveniles are grayish-brown with white streaks and marks all over their bodies. It takes three years for them to develop into adults.
- Nyctanassa violacea
- Length: 22 – 28 in (56 – 71 cm)
- Weight: 25.6 oz ( 726 g)
- Wingspan: 42 0 44 in (107 – 112 cm)
Before moving south, yellow-crowned night-herons breed mostly in the states of Georgia and Florida. Throughout Mexico, the Caribbean, and northern South America, they live throughout the year.
In coastal areas with a lot of crustaceans, shallow waters, and suitable feeding places, you may see Yellow-crowned Night-herons at daybreak and dusk.
Yellow-crowned Night-herons eat mainly crustaceans like crabs and crayfish, which make up their diet. Fish, insects, worms, mollusks, lizards, snakes, rodents, and birds are among the other foods they consume. Little prey can be swallowed in a flash by them.
Crabs are frequently dismembered and stabbed in the body.
Yellow-crowned Night-herons build nests near water, and their nests are commonly found in small, loose colonies. Both parents build nests out of soft sticks and twigs gathered from grass, leaves, or moss.
They then incubate up to eight eggs for three weeks together. The chicks are fed through regurgitation when they hatch. They fledge after roughly a month and are able to fly on their own at fifty days.
Fun Fact: The eastern equine encephalomyelitis (EEE) virus, which can kill horses and humans, is carried by the yellow-crowned night-heron.
6. Green Heron
In Alberta, green herons are considered uncommon or accidental, yet they were photographed in Calgary in 2022.
The glossy green-black color of the crowns, crests, backs, and wings of Green Herons attracts attention, but you have to come closer to appreciate how hunchbacked and gloomy they appear from afar.
These become black in the breeding season, and their bills are two-toned, dark on top with a yellow bottom. Their irises and legs become orange as well.
Chestnut or maroon in color, their heads, necks, and breasts The top half of the neck is striped with a white stripe that runs down the middle. Gray bellies cover their bodies.
With dark hats and a crest, juveniles are browner.
- Butorides virescens
- Length: 18 – 22 in (46 – 56 cm)
- Weight: 9.17 oz (260 g)
- Wingspan: 25 – 26 in (64 – 66 cm)
Before heading south, Green Herons breed primarily in the eastern United States and the Pacific Coast. Those, however, are only available all year along the Gulf Coast, Caribbean, and Mexico.
Swamps, marshes, lakes, ponds, and other damp environments with dense vegetation are home to Green Herons. They may dwell in dry woods or orchards if there are water sources nearby, despite their preference for coastal and inland wetlands.
Little fish, insects, spiders, crustaceans, snails, amphibians, reptiles, and rodents make up the Green Herons’ diet. Rather than wading, they typically perch on sticks over the water while hunting from shore.
Green Heron nests are typically built in the trees above water, although some may lay them on the ground, hidden under shrubs.
Females lay two to six eggs at two-day intervals. The final egg is deposited, and both parents begin incubating it after twenty days. As soon as the eggs are hatched, they both feed their young.
Fun Facts: Using bait, such as bread, feathers, twigs, and leaves to capture their meal, green herons are one of the few bird species to employ tools.
7. Snowy Egret
In Alberta, snowy egrets are a unique species that has been labeled as an accidental species. They were spotted near Tyrrell Lake in 2022, though.
The little, all-white herons known as snowy egrets are a common sight. Their irises are yellow, and their skin around the eye is long, black. They have long, black bills and bright yellow feet.
Long, lacy feathers cover their heads, necks, and backs throughout the breeding season. During courtship, their lores or faces become reddish-pink, and their toes become orange-red.
Surprisingly, during violent encounters, these regions of their bodies become bright red.
Adults have head plumes, whereas juveniles do not. The lores and legs are more greenish-yellow, and the colors on their bills and legs are lighter.
- Egretta thula
- Length: 22 – 27 in (56 -69 cm)
- Weight: 16.75 oz (475 g)
- Wingspan: 39.4 in (100 cm)
Except for the Gulf Coast and the southwest coast, snowy egrets migrate from most US states. In Mexico, Central, and South America, they are present throughout the year.
Snowy Egrets may be found in marshes, riverbanks, lakesides, pools, salt marshes, and estuaries. They prefer shallow water environments. Swamp woods with protective trees and vegetation are preferred for nesting.
Fish, crustaceans, snails, frogs, and crayfish are all hunted by snowy egrets in shallow water. They may remain motionless, waiting for prey to come to them or stirring the water so that their prey is easier to capture when it surfaces.
The males pick the nests of Snowy Egrets. They choose a spot and put on a show for their prospective mates. Males continue to supply sticks, sedges, or reeds when they pair up, while females construct the nest.
Nests are commonly found on trees or ground-level shrubs. Both parents incubate their eggs, which the female lays two to six eggs. The incubation period is normally twenty-four days.
Fun Fact: Because of their lovely white head feathers, snowy egrets were on the verge of extinction, serving as a beautiful decoration or accessory for women’s hats.
8. Cattle Egret
In Alberta, Cattle Egrets are an accidental species. They were last seen around Whitford Lake in 2020 and are quite uncommon in the province.
Cattle Egrets use a clever method of catching their meal…they stand on the backs of cattle, allowing them to capture the stirred prey as they move and disturb the terrain.
The bodies of Cattle Egrets are white, and their heads, necks, and backs have pale orange-brown markings. These short-necked egrets are tiny.
Their irises and cheeks are yellow in color. Their bills are small and greenish-black, and their legs are short. Males and females have a similar appearance.
During the breeding season, Cattle Egrets change color, becoming more vivid on their legs and face.
Their light orange patches become deeper orange during the breeding season. At the peak of their courting, their bills, legs, and irises become vivid red, and their facial skin (lores) becomes pinkish-red.
- Bubulcus ibis
- Length: 19 – 21 in (48 – 53 cm)
- Weight: 17.98 oz (510 g)
- Wingspan: 36 – 38 in (91 – 97 cm)
Cattle Egrets may be found all over the globe, however those in Mexico, the Gulf Coast, and southwestern US states stay throughout the year.
Those that breed farther north, mainly in the eastern United States, move south after breeding.
In particular, wherever there is hoofed cattle, you may spot Cattle Egrets in native grasslands, pastures, grain fields, and rice fields.
They do venture into the edges of aquatic environments, such as riverbanks, ponds, and shallow marshes, despite their preference to stay on land and atop cattle. Golf courses, lawns, athletic fields, dumps, and parks are all common places for them to be seen.
Insects, mostly grasshoppers, crickets, flies, beetles, and moths make up the diet of Cattle Egrets. Spiders, frogs, tiny snakes, lizards, earthworms, and fish are among the animals they consume.
Cattle Egret nests are generally constructed in woodlands near lakes or rivers, in marshes, or on tiny islands. They are created of sticks and reeds and made in colonies.
Fun Fact: Binocular vision for judging distance to capture prey on land rather than correcting for light refraction when feeding in water has enabled the Cattle Egret to adapt to eating on land.
9. Little Blue Heron
In Alberta, Little Blue Herons are considered an accidental species, and they were last seen near Frank Lake in 2018, according to records.
Little blue herons are not as small as they seem. Long, stretched bodies characterize these animals from medium to huge. With dangling feathers over the nape, their heads and necks have a purple hue.
During the breeding season, their eyes may change from pale yellow to gray-green. Two-toned, pale blue or grayish with black tips, their long, dagger-like bills are two-toned. Their skin is slate-blue in color. They have black to gray-green legs that are relatively long.
Before becoming a combination of dark gray, blue, and white, juvenile Little Blue Herons are completely white throughout their first year.
- Egretta caerulea
- Length: 24 – 29 in (61 – 74 cm)
- Weight: 16.22 oz (460 g)
- Wingspan: 40 – 41 in (102 – 104 cm)
Before migrating south, Little Blue Herons breed in the eastern United States, but those in the Gulf Coast and Mexico remain throughout the year.
Little Blue Herons may be seen around water, such as swamps, marshes, ponds, streams, lagoonas, tidal flats, canals, ditches and fish hatcheries.
In comparison to other herons, Little Blue Herons search in a more graceful manner. They simply stand and wait in shallow waters for their prey, rather than dashing about across the water.
Fish, frogs, snakes, turtles, spiders, crustaceans, mice, and insects make up the diet of Little Blue Herons. Juveniles prefer to stay with mixed groups whereas adults forage alone.
Little Blue Heron nests are constructed of sticks and are commonly found in groups with other herons. Up to six eggs are deposited by the female. The incubation period can last up to twenty-four days, with both parents contributing.
Fun Fact: Juvenile Little Blue Herons’ presence among Snowy Egrets allows them to capture more fish and protect themselves against predators, which is why they have white coloring.
10. Tricolored Heron
Tricolored Herons have been missing from Alberta for many years and are an accidental species.
The white belly and neck stripe of a Tricolored Heron quickly distinguishes it from other herons.
The feathers of non-breeding birds are blue-gray, purple, and white. Their bills have a black tip and are yellowish or greyish in color. Yellow or olive green coloration cover their legs and feet.
The base of the bill becomes blue, and breeding adults have thin, white feathers protruding from the back of their heads. Their necks and backs have thinner feathers as well. Their legs, too, turn reddish in hue.
The neck, upper breasts, upper back, and wings of juveniles are more reddish-brown.
- Egretta tricolor
- Length: 24 – 26 in (61 – 66 cm)
- Weight: 14.6 oz (414 g)
- Wingspan: 36 in (91 cm)
Herons of various colors may be seen across the Gulf Coast, Mexico, and northern South America all year. Those that breed farther north migrate south along the Atlantic coast.
Freshwater and brackish marshes, estuaries, and coastal tidal pools or swamps are all good places to look for Tricolored Herons.
Tricolored Herons are territorial about their feeding sites and prefer to feed alone. They’ll eat small fish, frogs, crustaceans, and insects, so they’ll chase away other wading birds who want to feed on their territory.
Stalking, chasing, standing, and waiting for their victim are all behaviors to expect. Before striking, they squat low in the water with their bellies grazing the surface and their necks pulled in.
Tricolored Heron nests are built in groups in trees and shrubs, using sticks as materials. The female lays three to five eggs, which are shared by both parents during the three-week incubation period. The babies are also fed by both of them.
Fun Fact: The only dark-colored heron with a white belly, the Tricolored Heron was once known as the Louisiana Heron.
How Frequently Herons Are Spotted In Alberta In Summer And Winter
Checklists are a wonderful way to discover which birds you may see often in your area. In Alberta, during the summer and winter seasons on Ebird, these lists chronicle which herons are most often detected.
Herons in Alberta in summer:
Great Blue Heron 8.6%
Black-crowned Night-Heron 2.0%
American Bittern 1.1%
Great Egret 0.2%
Snowy Egret <0.1%
Green Heron <0.1%
Cattle Egret <0.1%
Little Blue Heron <0.1%
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron <0.1%
Tricolored Heron <0.1%
Herons in Alberta in winter:
Great Blue Heron 0.1%
Black-crowned Night-Heron <0.1%