The North Bay Heron and Egret Project

The North Bay Heron and Egret Project is a collaborative effort between Audubon Canyon Ranch (ACR) and the San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory (SFBBO) to monitor colonially nesting herons and egrets in the San Francisco Estuary. It is the result of ACR's continuing commitment toward the protection of nesting herons and egrets in our region and is a source of information for scientists and researchers, land developers, planning agencies, birding enthusiasts and local residents.

The heronries monitored by Audubon Canyon Ranch can be viewed here by using Google Earth. To take a virtual tour, download the file with Google Earth. (scroll down here for more direction).

If you choose to visit a heronry in person, please use caution. Birds are especially vulnerable to disturbance during the nesting season (approximately February-June). During this time, please take care not to walk near or under the heronries, and always respect private property.

More information about the North Bay Heron and Egret Project and the complete atlas - the Annotated Atlas and Implications for the Conservation of Heron and Egret Nesting Colonies in the San Francisco Bay Area - are available here or by contacting the Cypress Grove Research Center at 415-663-8203 or cgrc@egret.org.

Download the file for use with Google Earth or Read More Instructions.

Instructions on Viewing the Heronries using Google Earth:

1. Download Google Earth and follow the instructions on earth.google.com to install the software
2. Download the Heronries KMZ file and save to your hard drive (the file will be named heronries.kmz)
3. Launch Google Earth. From the file menu, click open, navigate to where you have saved heronries.kmz, click on it, then click open. (On a Mac, double-clicking the .kmz file will open it in Google Earth.)
4. The Heronries KMZ will open and you will automatically zoom in to the San Francisco Bay Area!
5. Explore! In the Places window, you can click on the Audubon Canyon Ranch text for more information on the North Bay Heron and Egret Project. When exploring the study area, click on any egret icon to view information about that site. You may take an automated tour of the study area by first selecting a the "Tour the study area folder," then clicking the Play button at the bottom of your Places window. You may tour by region by first selecting the folder for the region you are interested in (e.g. "Outer Pacific Coast") then clicking the Play button.