Are Herons Protected Under Federal and State Law?

Yes. Herons are protected under federal law. Every heron species native to the United States falls under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, which makes it illegal to kill, capture, possess, buy, or sell a heron, or to disturb its active nest, eggs, or young. The protection extends to feathers and any other part of the bird. Most states layer additional rules on top, and penalties for a violation can run into hundreds of thousands of dollars.

What the Protection Actually Covers

The Migratory Bird Treaty Act, codified at 16 U.S.C. § 703, has been on the books since 1918 and implements bird-conservation treaties with Canada, Mexico, Japan, and Russia.¹ The Fish and Wildlife Service’s official list of protected species, at 50 CFR 10.13, sweeps in every native member of the heron family (Ardeidae). Egrets are herons taxonomically, so the same rules apply to them.² Common species covered include:

Great Blue Heron
Green Heron
Little Blue Heron
Tricolored Heron
Black-crowned Night-Heron
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron
Great Egret
Snowy Egret
Cattle Egret
Reddish Egret

The statute prohibits killing, hunting, capturing, or possessing any protected bird. It also bars possession or sale of feathers, nests, and eggs. Shipping, importing, exporting, buying, and bartering are all off limits. The only way to lawfully do any of these things is to hold a valid federal permit.¹

Scaring a heron off your property is a different matter. The permit rules apply to capturing or killing; nonlethal deterrents like motion-activated sprinklers, reflective tape, and decoy predators need no federal permission.³

Penalties for Killing or Possessing a Heron

A standard MBTA violation is a federal misdemeanor. The maximum penalty is a fine of up to $15,000, up to six months in jail, or both.⁴ Shooting a heron, knocking down an active nest, or keeping a heron feather all fit here.

The stakes rise sharply once money enters the picture. Knowingly killing or capturing a heron with intent to sell it, or actually selling or bartering the bird, is a felony carrying up to two years in prison.⁴ The MBTA’s own fine cap for a felony is $2,000, but the general federal sentencing statute raises the practical maximum to $250,000 for an individual and $500,000 for an organization.⁵

Unintentional harm can still be a violation. The Fish and Wildlife Service confirmed in 2021 that the MBTA reaches incidental take, meaning birds killed as a byproduct of otherwise lawful activity such as construction or logging.⁶ If a project destroys a heron rookery during nesting season, the people responsible can be charged even without any intent to harm the birds.

Herons Nesting on Your Property

Herons breed in colonies called rookeries, sometimes stacking dozens of nests into a single stand of trees. Federal law treats active and inactive nests very differently, and the line matters if a heron has chosen your land.

An active nest, meaning one with eggs, chicks, or young birds still dependent on it, cannot be removed, relocated, or knocked down. Even approaching too closely and causing the adults to abandon their eggs can be a violation.⁷

An inactive nest, with no eggs or dependent young, is not protected in the same way. You can take it down, provided you do not collect or keep it and no birds are harmed in the process. If removal turns out to destroy eggs or young you did not know were there, you are still liable. When there is any doubt, wait until breeding season ends.⁷

The Fish and Wildlife Service does issue permits to remove active nests, but only in narrow circumstances, generally involving serious threats to human health or safety. The agency usually expects the applicant to wait for the nest to become inactive instead.⁷

When Herons Are Eating Your Fish

A great blue heron can empty a backyard koi pond in a morning, and commercial aquaculture operations lose serious money to heron predation. The MBTA still applies, but there is a permit path.

A depredation permit from the Fish and Wildlife Service authorizes capture or killing of migratory birds that damage property, threaten livestock, or endanger human health or safety. Before the agency will consider the application, you must document that you tried nonlethal methods, such as netting, scare devices, or habitat changes. The application requires a Wildlife Services Permit Review Form completed by USDA Wildlife Services, which may involve a site visit. The fee is $100 for businesses and $50 for individuals, and government agencies pay nothing. Each permit runs one year, and you owe an annual report on what you did. Anyone helping you carry out the permitted activities needs a permit of their own.³

Fish farms and hatcheries follow a specific track. The agency issues depredation permits for fish-eating birds at aquaculture facilities when USDA Wildlife Services confirms all other deterrence has failed and the agency itself cannot handle the birds directly. The application must specify how many birds of each species the operator wants to take and describe the anticipated economic loss otherwise. No permit will be issued for endangered or threatened species, birds listed as species of conservation concern, or migratory game birds other than mergansers.⁸

Injured, Trapped, or Sick Herons

Do not try to capture or handle an injured heron yourself. Herons defend themselves with sharp, spear-like bills and can cause serious eye injuries. Call your state wildlife agency or a licensed wildlife rehabilitator; most state fish and wildlife departments post rehabilitator directories online.

Licensed veterinarians can hold a sick or injured heron temporarily without a federal permit, but they must transfer it to a federally permitted wildlife rehabilitator within 24 hours of stabilizing it. If no rehabilitator is available, the vet must contact the regional Migratory Bird Permit Office.⁹

A heron stuck inside a building is a separate narrow exception. You can humanely remove a trapped heron from a residence or commercial building without a permit if the bird poses a health threat, is attacking people, threatens commercial goods, or could injure itself because it is trapped. You cannot keep it, and if the bird is injured or exhausted during removal, it must go straight to a permitted rehabilitator. If an active nest with eggs or young is inside the building, only a federally permitted rehabilitator can handle the eggs or chicks.⁹

Drones and Aircraft

Flying a drone near herons can trigger a separate federal law. The Airborne Hunting Act, at 16 U.S.C. § 742j-1, makes it illegal to use any aircraft to harass a bird, fish, or other animal, and federal regulations define aircraft broadly enough to include drones. Violations carry fines of up to $5,000, up to one year in prison, or both. Government employees on official duty and holders of specific federal permits are exempt. Buzzing a drone over a heron rookery, whether from curiosity or to drive the birds off, can be prosecuted on its own, and if the drone causes birds to abandon nests with eggs or chicks, MBTA charges can stack on top.

State Law Often Adds More

Federal law sets the floor. States frequently add their own protections. Several states list the little blue heron or the yellow-crowned night-heron as threatened or of special concern under state law even though those species carry no federal listing. State rules commonly protect rookery sites during breeding season, restrict activity within buffer zones around nesting colonies, and require state permits alongside federal ones. Because the details vary widely, anyone planning work near heron habitat should check with the state fish and wildlife agency in addition to the federal requirements.

Reporting a Violation

If you see someone killing, capturing, or selling a heron or its parts, report it to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Tips can be submitted online or by calling the FWS TIPS line at 1-844-397-8477. Include the location, date, and what you observed, along with any photos or video you have.¹⁰

1
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. United States Code Title 16 – 703 Taking, Killing, or Possessing Migratory Birds Unlawful
2
eCFR. 50 CFR 10.13 – List of Birds Protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act
3
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. 3-200-13 Migratory Bird Depredation
4
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. United States Code Title 16 – 707 Violations and Penalties
5
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. United States Code Title 18 – 3571 Sentence of Fine
6
Federal Register. Regulations Governing Take of Migratory Birds Revocation of Provisions
7
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. Bird Nests
8
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. Depredating Birds at Fish Culture Facilities
9
eCFR. 50 CFR 21.12 – General Exceptions to Permit Requirements
10
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. How to Report Wildlife Crime