Nesting herons, egrets and cormorants are flocking to Morro Bay. Here’s a look

Morro Bay is always a great spot for bird-watching, and now’s as good a time as any.

That’s because five varieties of birds are nesting and raising young in the rookery along the shores of the bay, located north of the Natural History Museum.

The birds include great blue herons, great egrets, double-crested cormorants, snowy egrets and black-crowned night herons, who are building nests, laying eggs and raising their chicks.

“We came to Morro Bay so we could come to this rookery,” said birdwatcher Gary Blasingame of Redding. “Seeing so many at one time is just amazing. Just a ton of these egrets. It’s pretty cool to see them with the young ones in the nest.”

While the city is known for its Winter Bird Festival, May through July are actually the prime bird-watching months.

This story was originally published June 21, 2022 at 12:23 PM with the headline "Nesting herons, egrets and cormorants are flocking to Morro Bay. Here’s a look."