Stanley Park is home to one of the largest urban great blue heron colonies in North America. They have been nesting at their current location behind Beach Avenue since 2001, and have been documented nesting in various other locations in Stanley Park. Today, sightings of these majestic birds in and around the park are common place. The Stanley Park Ecology Society has been monitoring the heronry in Stanley Park since 2004 and has worked with the Vancouver Park Board and the Canadian Wildlife Service to support herons in their urban environment. The creation of a Stanley Park great blue heron management plan was a giant step towards the successful management of this species.