Bird

Great Blue Heron

Ardea herodias

Lives in Louisiana all year and nests here. Found in all 64 parishes, across 10 habitats.

Here: All year
Nesting: Nests here
Range: All 64 parishes
Habitats: 10

Male Great Blue Heron, whole bird — **Male**. (c) Daughter Dad, some rights reserved (CC BY). CC BY. iNaturalist photo 612028340. iNaturalist large derivative; no local crop or retouch.

At a glance

Group: Birds
Here: All year
Nesting: Nests here
Range: All 64 parishes
Habitats: 10
Habitat models: Summer, Winter

Where it lives

The places its habitat model includes. It is not found everywhere a habitat occurs.

Habitats in Louisiana 10

Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.

1 of 10

SummerWinterSouthern Coastal Plain Seepage Swamp and Baygall; West Gulf Coastal Plain Seepage Swamp and Baygall; East Gulf Coastal Plain Tidal Wooded Swamp; West Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Large River Swamp; Lower Mississippi River Bottomland Depressions - Forest Modifier; Mississippi River Bottomland DepressionJoseph Rusling Meeker, The Land of Evangeline (1874): moss-hung trees over a still bayou in Louisiana swamp forest. Regional view: the painting does not name the exact site. Louisiana bayou country (Meeker, The Land of Evangeline, 1874)*The Land of Evangeline*, Joseph Rusling Meeker, 1874. Public domain. Source record.

Coastal dunes and beaches

Open sand of beaches, dunes and the hollows between them.

SummerWinterUnconsolidated Shore (Beach/Dune); Upper Texas Coast Beach; Louisiana Beach; Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plain Interdunal Wetland

Coastal Plain seepage bogs

Open, wet, seepage-fed bogs of the Coastal Plain and Sandhills, often with pitcher plants.

SummerWinterSouthern Coastal Plain Herbaceous Seepage Bog

Coastal tidal marshes (salinity not stated)

Tidal marshes of the Atlantic and Gulf coasts where the source does not say whether the water is fresh, brackish or salt. A stated salinity files the marsh under freshwater tidal marshes or salt and brackish marshes instead.

SummerWinter

Disturbed and introduced wetlands

Wet ground taken over by weedy or introduced plants after disturbance, such as common reed, Chinese tallow or tamarisk stands; the upland counterpart is roadsides, fields and disturbed ground.

SummerWinter

Floodplain and bottomland forests

Forests on low ground beside rivers and streams that flood from time to time.

SummerWinterMississippi River Riparian Forest; Mississippi River Low Floodplain (Bottomland) Forest; West Gulf Coastal Plain Small Stream and River Forest; West Gulf Coastal Plain Large River Floodplain Forest; Red River Large Floodplain Forest; Mississippi River Floodplain and Riparian Forest

Ponds, lakes and their shores

Still water and its edges: ponds, lakes, millponds and reservoirs.

SummerWinterOpen Water (Fresh)

Sounds, bays and tidal flats

Salt and brackish open water of sounds, bays and estuaries, with the mud and sand flats and seagrass beds that tides cover and uncover; the vegetated marsh is salt and brackish marshes.

SummerWinterOpen Water (Brackish/Salt)

Prairies and grasslands

Open, grass-dominated places kept open by fire, grazing or thin soil, from tallgrass prairie to Piedmont prairies.

SummerWinterOnly within 1,000 m of water.Texas-Louisiana Coastal Prairie

Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground

Ground opened by people: roadsides, old fields, pastures, fencerows and lots.

SummerWinterOnly within 1,000 m of water.Pasture/Hay

Other habitats in its models (82)

Land cover, or classes with no habitat page in Louisiana. Those recorded in Louisiana first, the rest by region.

In Louisiana 1

West Gulf Coastal Plain Chenier and Upper Texas Coastal Fringe Forest and Woodland Summer, only within 1,000 m of water.

Elsewhere in the South (42)

Atlantic Coastal Plain Brownwater Stream Floodplain Forest Summer and winter.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Central Fresh-Oligohaline Tidal Marsh Summer and winter.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Central Salt and Brackish Tidal Marsh Summer and winter.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Embayed Region Tidal Freshwater Marsh Summer and winter.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Embayed Region Tidal Salt and Brackish Marsh Summer and winter.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Indian River Lagoon Tidal Marsh Summer and winter.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Large Natural Lakeshore Summer and winter.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Northern Tidal Wooded Swamp Summer and winter.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Peatland Pocosin Summer and winter.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Sea Island Beach Summer and winter.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Small Blackwater River Floodplain Forest Summer and winter.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Small Brownwater River Floodplain Forest Summer and winter.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Southern Beach Summer and winter.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Southern Tidal Wooded Swamp Summer and winter.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Southern Wet Pine Savanna and Flatwoods Summer and winter.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Xeric River Dune Summer and winter.
Central Florida Herbaceous Pondshore Summer and winter.
Central Florida Herbaceous Seep Summer and winter.
Cumberland Riverscour Summer and winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Savanna and Wet Prairie Summer and winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Small Stream and River Floodplain Forest Summer and winter.
East-Central Texas Plains Riparian Forest Summer and winter.
Florida Big Bend Fresh-Oligohaline Tidal Marsh Summer and winter.
Florida Big Bend Salt-Brackish Tidal Marsh Summer and winter.
Floridian Highlands Freshwater Marsh Summer and winter.
Mississippi Sound Salt and Brackish Tidal Marsh Summer and winter.
Ozark-Ouachita Riparian Summer and winter.
South Florida Bayhead Swamp Summer and winter.
South Florida Cypress Dome Summer and winter.
South Florida Everglades Sawgrass Marsh Summer and winter.
South Florida Freshwater Slough and Gator Hole Summer and winter.
South Florida Mangrove Swamp Summer and winter.
South Florida Wet Marl Prairie Summer and winter.
South-Central Interior Large Floodplain Summer and winter.
South-Central Interior Small Stream and Riparian Summer and winter.
Southern and Central Appalachian Bog and Fen Summer and winter.
Southern Coastal Plain Blackwater River Floodplain Forest Summer and winter.
Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp Summer and winter.
Southern Piedmont Small Floodplain and Riparian Forest Summer and winter.
Southwest Florida Beach Summer and winter.
Texas Coastal Bend Beach Summer and winter.
Texas Saline Coastal Prairie Summer and winter.

Northeast (3)

Atlantic Coastal Plain Northern Fresh and Oligohaline Tidal Marsh Summer and winter.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Northern Tidal Salt Marsh Summer and winter.
Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain Basin Swamp and Wet Hardwood Forest Summer and winter.

Midwest (1)

Western Great Plains Wooded Draw and Ravine Winter, only within 60 m of water.

Land cover and other classes (35)

Atlantic Coastal Plain Blackwater Stream Floodplain Forest - Forest Modifier Summer and winter.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Clay-Based Carolina Bay Forested Wetland Summer and winter.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Clay-Based Carolina Bay Herbaceous Wetland Summer and winter.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Depression Pondshore Summer and winter.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Nonriverine Swamp and Wet Hardwood Forest - Oak Dominated Modifier Summer and winter.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Nonriverine Swamp and Wet Hardwood Forest - Taxodium/Nyssa Modifier Summer and winter.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Streamhead Seepage Swamp - Pocosin - and Baygall Summer and winter.
Central Appalachian Floodplain - Forest Modifier Summer and winter.
Central Appalachian Riparian - Forest Modifier Summer and winter.
Central Interior and Appalachian Floodplain Systems Summer and winter.
Central Interior and Appalachian Riparian Systems Summer and winter.
Central Interior and Appalachian Shrub-Herbaceous Wetland Systems Summer and winter.
Central Interior and Appalachian Swamp Systems Summer and winter.
Developed, Low Intensity Summer, only within 1,000 m of water.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Large River Floodplain Forest - Forest Modifier Summer and winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Large River Floodplain Forest - Herbaceous Modifier Summer and winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Southern Depression Pondshore Summer and winter.
Eastern Great Plains Floodplain Systems Summer and winter.
Eastern Great Plains Wet Meadow, Prairie, and Marsh Summer and winter.
Introduced Upland Vegetation - Annual Grassland Summer and winter, only within 1,000 m of water.
Introduced Upland Vegetation - Perennial Grassland Summer and winter, only within 1,000 m of water.
Open Water (Aquaculture) Summer and winter.
South-Central Interior Large Floodplain - Forest Modifier Summer and winter.
South-Central Interior Large Floodplain - Herbaceous Modifier Summer and winter.
Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp - Okefenokee Bay/Gum Modifier Summer and winter.
Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp - Okefenokee Nupea Modifier Summer and winter.
Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp - Okefenokee Pine Modifier Summer and winter.
Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp - Okefenokee Taxodium Modifier Summer and winter.
Southern Piedmont Large Floodplain Forest - Forest Modifier Summer and winter.
Southern Piedmont/Ridge and Valley Upland Depression Swamp Summer and winter.
Tamaulipan Riparian Systems Summer and winter.
Unconsolidated Shore Summer and winter.
Unconsolidated Shore (Lake/River/Pond) Summer and winter.
Western Great Plains Depressional Wetland Systems Summer and winter.
Western Great Plains Floodplain Systems Summer and winter.

The model applies distance limits to open and flowing water while retaining wet vegetation without that interior limit.

All habitats

Seasons in Louisiana

Year-round: nests here, in all 64 parishes.

Also found in its main habitats

Its main habitats in Louisiana, by how much of its habitat model each one is, with the birds most characteristic of each and the plants that grow wild there. Shared habitat, not food.