Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters

Take your next trip with Atlas Obscura!

Our small-group adventures are inspired by our Atlas of the world's most fascinating places, the stories behind them, and the people who bring them to life.

Visit Adventures
Trips Highlight
Macchu Picchu
Peru • 10 days, 9 nights
Peru: Machu Picchu & the Last Incan Bridges
from
Central Asia yurt night stars
Uzbekistan • 15 days, 14 nights
Central Asia Road Trip: Backroads & Bazaars
from
View all trips
Top Destinations
Latest Places
Most Popular Places Random Place Lists Itineraries
Add a Place
Download the App
Top Destinations
View All Destinations »

Countries

  • Australia
  • Canada
  • China
  • France
  • Germany
  • India
  • Italy
  • Japan

Cities

  • Amsterdam
  • Barcelona
  • Beijing
  • Berlin
  • Boston
  • Budapest
  • Chicago
  • London
  • Los Angeles
  • Mexico City
  • Montreal
  • Moscow
  • New Orleans
  • New York City
  • Paris
  • Philadelphia
  • Rome
  • San Francisco
  • Seattle
  • Stockholm
  • Tokyo
  • Toronto
  • Vienna
  • Washington, D.C.
Latest Places
View All Places »
Saquon Barkley Plaque
Kirkkasik Bedesten inside
Kirkkasik Bedesten
Someshwar Temple
Someshwar Temple
Grilled cheese and tomato soup are soulmates.
The Palisades Restaurant
Latest Places to Eat & Drink
View All Places to Eat »
A skeleton on display contemplating its own mortality.
Kid Mai Death Awareness Cafe
This classic London pub has a surprising history behind it.
John Snow
The beef, Guinness, and oyster pie sports a rich, flaky crust.
The Guinea
Welcome to one of the only floating pubs in the world.
Tamesis Dock
This may be the oldest pie in the world.
St Helens 'Oldest Pie' at The Turks Head
Recent Stories
All Stories Video Podcast
Most Recent Stories
View All Stories »
Decoy’s wines reflect the terroir of California.
How a Wooden Duck Migrated From the California Wetlands to a Wine Label
13 days ago
There’s more to the French capital than the Eiffel Tower.
Dear Atlas: What Are Some Non-Touristy Things to Do in Paris?
16 days ago
The plants around Liz Dauncey in this photo are not poisonous, but many common garden and houseplants are.
Are Some of Your Favorite Houseplants Poisonous? AO Wants to Know.
23 days ago
“There may be a collective sense of a dark loneliness,” Dahl says, referring to Norway’s natural landscape.
In Norway, Easter Means Tucking Into Crime Stories
23 days ago

No search results found for
“”

Make sure words are spelled correctly.

Try searching for a travel destination.

Places near me Random place

Popular Destinations

  • Paris
  • London
  • New York
  • Berlin
  • Rome
  • Los Angeles
Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Sign In Join
Places near me Random place
All the United States Ohio Peninsula Bath Road Heronry

Bath Road Heronry

Beside a busy highway, a colony of Great Blue Herons raises hundreds of offspring each year.

Peninsula, Ohio

Added By
Sydney Rose
Email
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list
Bath Road Heronry Photographers   National Park Service / D.J. Reiser
Bath Road Heronry Photographers   National Park Service / D.J. Reiser
  Steve @ the alligator farm
  Steve @ the alligator farm
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list

About

Every year around Valentine's Day, hundreds of great blue herons (Ardea herodias) descend upon the Cuyahoga Valley National Park in Northeast Ohio to engage in their annual courtship and mating rituals. The birds build their nests in communal rookeries called heronries. Heronries typically appear in secluded areas, and the birds are ordinarily cautious and skittish. They're usually surrounded by marshland, and observable only by the most intrepid birdwatchers. The Bath Road Heronry is unusual because of its proximity to the busy highway between Riverview and Akron-Penninsula Roads. It affords people a rare opportunity to see an active heron rookery without trudging through miles of wetlands. Because the road is so heavily traveled, there's a pull-off to prevent vehicles from obstructing traffic while birders view and photograph the nests and their occupants.

Blue herons were first observed nesting in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park in 1985. Since that time, the birds have grown in number and return annually. The Bath Road Herony peaked at 176 nests in 2003. Unfortunately, the loss of two trees during the ensuing years reduced the number of viable nesting places. Since that time, the nest numbers have ranged from 50 to 100. In 2006, another heronry appeared in a more remote area to the north.    

The Bath Road nests occupy three enormous sycamore trees on the south side of West Bath Road. The area is marshy and close to the Cuyahoga River, with its plentiful supply of fish and amphibians. Nothing more than a chainlink fence separates the nesting area from the highway. 

The heron nests are large—up to four feet in diameter and two feet deep—and between 30 and 70 feet off the ground. Each nest is constructed from a platform of sticks and branches, and lined with pine needles, moss, grass, and leaves. Although rickety in appearance, the nests are stable enough to support the weight of two big parents and up to seven jostling nestlings. Great blue herons are North America's largest herons. At four feet tall with a wingspan of seven feet (at up to 5.5 pounds, since they are birds, after all), they are very hard to miss. 

Their mating behavior is charming.  Couples can be observed "clappering"—quickly and repeatedly clicking their long bills together in a mating display. Courtship continues when the male heron presents the female with a stick. If she accepts, they are bonded and commence building or remodeling their nest. Nest construction or repair is usually completed by early April. A clutch numbers three to seven eggs that are incubated by both parents for 28 days.

Hatching begins in late April or early May. For two months, observers can watch the parents continually flying between the heronry and the Cuyahoga to bring food to their growing offspring. The gangly youngsters are easily viewed from Bath Road as they stand in the nests and compete for food. The herons remain at the rookery until they fledge in early July. The abandoned nests remain through the fall and winter months, awaiting the herons' return in February. 

Related Tags

Birds Nest Nature Roadside Attractions Animals

Know Before You Go

Cuyahoga Valley National Park is open every day. 

Community Contributors

Added By

Sydney Rose

Published

June 11, 2020

Edit this listing

Make an Edit
Add Photos
Bath Road Heronry
1803 West Bath Road
Peninsula, Ohio, 44264
United States
41.163442, -81.570699
Visit Website
Get Directions

Nearby Places

The Little Falls

Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio

miles away

Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad

Peninsula, Ohio

miles away

The Glendale Steps

Akron, Ohio

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Peninsula

Peninsula

Ohio

Places 3

Nearby Places

The Little Falls

Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio

miles away

Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad

Peninsula, Ohio

miles away

The Glendale Steps

Akron, Ohio

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Peninsula

Peninsula

Ohio

Places 3

Related Places

  • Mesetas, Colombia

    Cañon del Guejar (Güejar River Canyon)

    River raft through rural Colombia’s ancient rock formations, pristine landscapes, and towering waterfalls.

  • Puffins thrive off the coast of Maine thanks to a 1970s effort called Project Puffin.

    Rockland, Maine

    Project Puffin Visitor Center

    Learn about the history and hopeful future of Maine’s nesting birds at this interactive Audubon facility.

  • Hawk Mountain Sanctuary

    Kempton, Pennsylvania

    Hawk Mountain Sanctuary

    Beautiful views of the surrounding hills and birds of prey can be found at this sanctuary.

  • Birds of prey are a frequent sanctuary visitor.

    Minneapolis, Minnesota

    Thomas Sadler Roberts Bird Sanctuary

    A hidden oasis in the heart of Minneapolis is also an Important Bird Area.

  • The Wren’s Eggs

    Whitehead, Northern Ireland

    The Wren's Eggs

    These huge glacial erratics are humorously named after a much much smaller bird.

  • Cheyenne Bottoms.

    Great Bend, Kansas

    Cheyenne Bottoms

    This 41,000-acre wetland complex is the largest marsh in the interior of the United States.

  • World’s largest prairie chicken.

    Rothsay, Minnesota

    World’s Largest Prairie Chicken

    The statue honors the booming birds Rothsay, Minnesota, is famous for.

  • Australian-American Memorial.

    Canberra, Australia

    Australian-American Memorial

    From a distance, this statue of an eagle looks like a giant chicken on a stick.

Aerial image of Vietnam, displaying the picturesque rice terraces, characterized by their layered, verdant fields.
Atlas Obscura Membership

Become an Atlas Obscura Member


Join our community of curious explorers.

Become a Member

Get Our Email Newsletter

Follow Us

Facebook YouTube TikTok Instagram Pinterest RSS Feed

Get the app

Download the App
Download on the Apple App Store Get it on Google Play
  • All Places
  • Latest Places
  • Most Popular
  • Places to Eat
  • Random
  • Nearby
  • Add a Place
  • Stories
  • Food & Drink
  • Itineraries
  • Lists
  • Video
  • Podcast
  • Newsletters
  • All Trips
  • Family Trip
  • Food & Drink
  • History & Culture
  • Wildlife & Nature
  • FAQ
  • Membership
  • Feedback & Ideas
  • Community Guidelines
  • Product Blog
  • Unique Gifts
  • Work With Us
  • About
  • FAQ
  • Advertise With Us
  • Advertising Guidelines
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms of Use
Atlas Obscura

© 2025 Atlas Obscura. All Rights Reserved.