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 locations of heronries monitored by Audubon Canyon Ranch and San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory can now be viewed using Google Earth. To take a virtual tour, download the file and open it with Google Earth (scroll down here for more directions).

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.

For more information about the heronries of the San Francisco Bay Area please see our publication: the Annotated Atlas and Implications for the Conservation of Heron and Egret Nesting Colonies in the San Francisco Bay Area - available here or contact the Cypress Grove Research Center at 415-663-8203 or cgrc@egret.org.

Download the heronries 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 HeronandEgretProject2012.kmz)
3. Launch Google Earth. From the file menu, click open, navigate to where you have saved HeronandEgretProject2012.kmz, click on it, then click open.
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 “Heron and Egret Project” text for more information about the Heron and Egret Project. When exploring the study area, click on any icon to view information about that particular nesting site.