Around Town Community
The Green Herons of Benicia
n Story and photos by Corinne Bailey One of the most wonderful aspects of living in Benicia is the magnificent waterfront and diverse marine wildlife. Because Benicia is on the Pacific Flyway, shorebirds stop over on their migrations and nest here, including Snowy Egrets, Great Egrets, Black-Crowned Night Herons, American Black Oystercatchers, Great Blue Herons, cormorants, osprey, gulls, and Green Herons.
A couple of years ago, my husband and I noticed a stout Green Heron (Butorides virescens) at the Benicia Marina. We became quite interested in him and nicknamed him “Greenie.” He doesn’t seem to migrate. The Benicia Marina is his home. The marina ecosystem provides all his needs — food, shelter of trees, water, and a relatively safe environment from predators. 2020 was apparently not a successful breeding season — we’d heard that one Green Heron chick had been born, but it’s rumored to have fallen out of the tree. This year was an entirely different story. In February, Greenie was making his presence known more often, perching in the willow trees, calling out for a mate. Happily, Greenie found his mate and began building a nest. Typically, during mating season, the male Green Heron starts building the nest and the female adds the finishing touches. In March, Greenie built the first nest in a large tree and gave his mate a tour. The nest was near the car turnaround at the end of the marina, which wasn’t an ideal location. The mating pair were pretty secretive and protective during breeding season. We found evidence of a chick that did not survive beneath the first nest: a pile of fluffy feathers. But soon after, we saw three Green Herons flying together, so we believe there was one successful chick from this first brood. By the time we saw the offspring, it pretty much looked like an adult. 14 • Benicia Magazine
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