BOOTHBAY REGISTER • October 28, 2026
Wading birds from the other side of the Atlantic keep finding their way to the Americas. Last week, a gray heron, the Eurasian equivalent to the familiar great blue heron, was identified in Cape Elizabeth. Gray herons have been showing up for thirty years or so in Barbados and other islands in the Lesser Antilles but have begun popping up more regularly in Newfoundland and other parts of Atlantic Canada, with a few sightings south to Virginia. Gray herons may already be nesting in the eastern Caribbean. Over the decades to come, will they become a more regular visitor here in Maine? It would be easy to miss a gray heron among the many great blue herons we have in Maine so keep your eyes open for something that looks a little different and maybe you’ll be the next one to spot a bit of gray among the sea of blue. ~ Jeff and Allison Wells