"Heron Lady" Shares Love of Majestic Birds with Public

photo: Philip Liborio Gangi

Nancy DeStefanis points to a Great Blue Heron
nesting spot located at Golden Gate Park's Stow Lake.

By Ryder W. Miller

Nancy DeStefanis, the "heron lady of Golden Gate Park," has formed a non-profit organization, San Francisco Nature Education, to acquaint underserved third and fourth grade students with the various types of birds that can be found in the City.

DeStefanis, a former Sunset District resident and current Richmond resident who manages the Stow Lake Great Blue Heron Program, works at the Richmond District office of San Francisco Nature Education, where the walls of the office are filled with pictures of birds, including her beloved Great Blue Heron.

DeStefanis first discovered a nesting pair of Great Blue Herons in Golden Gate Park in 1993. Her life has never been the same.

"The experience was so exciting for me I kept coming back," she said. "The bird looked like a Concord jet with its six-foot-wide wing span."

DeStefanis then started a new career monitoring and compiling information about the Great Blue Herons nesting at Stow Lake. The herons were later discovered at Lake Merced as well.

DeStefanis has found support for her project from the California Academy of Sciences, SF Bay Bird Observatory, Golden Gate Audubon Society and Audubon Canyon Ranch.

In 1997, teachers started asking her to take their students out on nature hikes to see the birds. By 2000, she formed SF Nature Education to organize school programs and the heron watch program. The Golden Gate Audubon Society sponsored the first program.

The Stow Lake Great Blue Heron watch program runs in April and May.

"She did a terrific job starting the program for the kids," said Dan Murphy, former president of the Golden Gate Audubon Society. "She is an absolutely dynamic lady who is doing a wonderful job." 

DeStefanis started the eight week program "so the public could share the delight and sheer wonder of watching the chicks grow up and learn to fly."

For the herons, January and February is a courtship period. In March, the herons lay eggs and keep them warm until April and May, when the first chicks hatch. In 11 seasons, 71 chicks have hatched at the lake. Most of the Great Blue Herons stay in the Bay Area, going to Lake Merced, Audubon Canyon Ranch and other locations.

"They are the best show in town," DeStefanis said.

The Academy of Sciences provided volunteers for the "cool birds who hang around" program, but with the Academy temporarily closed in the park, DeStefanis has had to look elsewhere for volunteer docents. 

In addition to the Stow Lake Heron watch program, DeStefanis also organizes a bird watching program for families at the Strybing Arboretum on the first Saturday of the month.

SF Nature Education spends 10 hours with the school children involved in both programs. There are visits to the classrooms and then to Stow Lake and the Strybing Arboretum. "They become mini experts on the birds of San Francisco," DeStefanis said.

DeStefanis said that for every class of third graders they need three naturalists to make the program successful. The naturalists also supply binoculars.

SF Nature Education also organizes an annual Bird Calling Contest, which is a popular attraction. SF Nature Education has a board of directors, manned by volunteer photographers and naturalists.

"As we grow, we continue to add classes from new schools where children don't have much exposure to wildlife and parks," DeStefanis said.

An estimated 4,000 people have participated in public programs at Stow Lake and 2,000 children have attended education programs, where they are exposed to stewardship and leadership opportunities while being encouraged to recycle and compost.

DeStefanis has worked to protect the Great Blue Herons by placing collars around the park's trees to deter the raccoons.

On Nov. 19, the first Great Blue Heron chick of the season was spotted at Stow Lake.

An attorney and former community organizer for Cesar Chavez, DeStefanis has been in San Francisco since 1970.

"People do not need to leave San Francisco to appreciate nature. We could have just collected data on the colony, but I saw an opportunity. For urban folks, they do not have to travel to be in nature," she said.  

"When a child that says to me, 'It was the best day of my life' and goes back to school and recycles, that's the only reward I need," she said.

SF Nature Education will be organizing Great Blue Heron programs at Stow Lake in April and May, including nature walks on Saturdays, from April 16 to May 21. For more information, call (415) 387-9160 or visit the website at www.sfnature.org.