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Bird Sounds: Great Blue Heron

Great Blue Heron
Written By: Catherine Boeckmann Executive Digital Editor and Master Gardener

Listen to the sounds and bird calls of the Great Blue Heron! This majestic bird is often seen near rivers and ponds, and its call is quite distinct.

To those lucky enough to spot a Great Blue Heron standing in or near water, it’s a sight that can take your breath away. They often stand motionless or wading very slowly, stalking their prey for hours upon hours.

With its beautiful blue-grey feathers, this water bird stands 4 to 5 feet tall and has a wingspan reaching up to 6.5 feet from tip to tip. Great Blue Herons can catch almost anything in the water, including fish, frogs, newts, turtles, small mammals, insects, and other birds. 

The Sound of the Great Blue

The Great Blue Herons “squawk” or croak has an almost prehistoric sound. If you surprise this bird as it is hunting on the water, it will squawk as it leaves, almost as if it’s annoyed by your disturbance. The bird, despite its size, is very light with hollow bones and can fly quite high. Their giant wing span and dramatic silhouettes when flying conjure images of pterodactyls.

Herons can be quite vocal during breeding. When one partner greets the other, they touch their bills together and when they fly to the nest, they make a “landing call” with squawking roh-roh-rohs. If their territory is threatened, they will “scream” with a long and startling “awk!!” that can last up to 20 seconds.

Have you heard a Great Blue Heron? Listen to their sound above, compliments of The Macaulay Library at The Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

Click here to listen to the sounds of other birds! 

Bird Sounds

About The Author

Catherine Boeckmann

Catherine Boeckmann

Executive Digital Editor and Master Gardener

Catherine Boeckmann is the Executive Digital Editor of Almanac.com and a Purdue University Extension Master Gardener. She loves helping readers find practical, trustworthy answers—whether they’re figu...

Read more from Catherine Boeckmann

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Comments

<span>Allene Hogan</span> Wed, 06/28/2017 - 02:51
While I was living in Aberdeen Wa., we rented a house on the Wishkah river. It had a resident mother and son heron. I had the delightful experience of looking out the kitchen window and seeing them flying up the river. Then I opened the window to hear them and I thought I was in a Time Warp. They sounded like prehistoric birds. I never heard anything like that before, except in the movies. It was awesome. I adapted my morning routine so that I could see them every morning, flying up the river in the predawn mist, and hear them calling. I really felt like I had stepped back in time.
<span>Michelle King</span> Tue, 06/27/2017 - 21:29
I live in Myrtle Beach SC. The swash runs down and behind my house throughout the neighborhood. One Blue Heron in particular has a special spot year round. Beautifully majestic birds. I love listening to them in the mornings.
<span>Ellen</span> Tue, 06/27/2017 - 20:33
I've heard the Great Blue Heron. They look and croak like teradactyls as they fly by over our lake in FL. When they're not up to their tail in the water fishing, I realized they are as tall as me.
<span>James09</span> Tue, 10/04/2011 - 16:46
I have these out by my apartment all the time in the summer...I guess they migrate because we never see them in the winter. Beautiful birds.
<span>Kit Parker Cali</span> Tue, 05/10/2011 - 12:51
I have an hour of video in a rookery, but can't distinguish the GBH call. I will put the video up on my YouTube channel: caliclips May 17th, perhaps someone with a better ear can identify the heron calling.