Catching a glimpse of one of B.C.’s most majestic animals is about to get a little easier.
The Vancouver Park Board has unveiled a webcam that will live stream the daily trials and tribulations of Stanley Park’s Pacific great blue herons.
The heron cam, hosted on the City of Vancouver’s website starting Wednesday, is pointed at a nest near 2099 Beach Avenue.
It is the 15th consecutive year the herons have returned to the nest, according to the Park Board.
Chick eggs are expected to hatch in April – to the delight of at-home viewers.
Newborn herons are expected to face a plethora of predators before they are fully grown, including eagles and racoons.
The board wrapped barriers around nest trees in 2010 to discourage the predators from climbing them.
Viewers are encouraged to engage in online conversation about the nest by using the hashtag #HeronTalk on Twitter, and the Park Board says a bird expert will be responding to questions.
The Stanley Park heron colony, one of North America’s largest, had a total of 116 nests in 2014, according to the Park Board.
Between 4,000 and 5,000 herons remain in all of Canada, and the Pacific great blue has been designated a bird of “special concern” by the Species at Risk Act.
