The great blue heron is the largest heron in the Chesapeake Bay and along the middle Atlantic. The head is largely white with a black stripe extending from the eye and terminating in a feathery crest. Breeding great blues have yellowish bills and plumes on the breast and back.
They build nests of sticks and twigs in the tops of trees. The female lays an average of four light bluish green eggs, which hatch in about a month. The young leave the nest in two months. The peak egg-laying time is between mid-March and mid-June.
Great blue herons can live to be about 15 years old and belong to the family of birds that include herons, egrets, and bitterns.
From
Life in the Chesapeake Bay Second Edition
Written By
Alice Jane Lippson & Robert L. Lippson
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