Herons and eagles are natural enemies, but in Chilliwack they evidently put their differences aside, according to a local photographer.
Ian McAlpine shared his “once in a lifetime” story on social media after seeing young herons being raised by an eagle.
He was walking along the Vedder Rotary Trail in Chilliwack with fellow photographers Mercedes Bustamante and Lynn Kroetch, when “eagle-eyed” Bustamante spotted a young heron in an eagle nest on May 21, McAlpine said.
“We all took photos, but assumed (rather depressingly) that it was about to become a meal.”
Eagles are known to eat heron eggs and chicks, and will sometimes even hunt adult herons.
Two weeks passed when Kroetch walked by the nest again and noticed the heron was still there.
“That shouldn’t have been possible, yet our eyes and our photos confirmed that it was true,” McAlpine said. “The heron must have been fed by the adult eagle all along.”
They eventually noticed a second young heron in the nest.
McAlpine posted photos on social media and shared his story prompting Camille Coray with the Great Blue Heron Nature Reserve Society to chime in.
“As far as we know, this is the only known documentation of this particular interspecies relationship. I know there are several instances of eagles raising red-tailed hawks, but herons? It’s truly mind blowing and definitely makes one think about the complexity of animal behaviour,” she said.
McAlpine contacted biologist David Hancock of Hancock Wildlife Foundation who has been studying eagles since the 1950s. McAlpine said that Hancock has “never heard of this either… Fascinating behaviour he thought.”
The three photographers hadn’t seen any sign of the young herons for more than a week, so McAlpine asked biologist Myles Lamont to get some footage using a drone. He did so on June 17, and found the nest was empty.
“There was no sign of heron remains, so it must have fledged,” McAlpine said.
Coray expressed her gratitude towards the three photographers for capturing and sharing the rare moment.
“Thank you to Mercedes, Ian, and Lynn for documenting this amazing phenomenon!”
Jenna Hauck is a journalist with The Chilliwack Progress. Email her at jenna.hauck@theprogress.com