Interns learn not only about the birds but also how to present what they've learned to the public. They also record observations of the herons' activities, which may be used in future studies. Nancy DeStefanis helps Marcella, a student at Sunnyside Elementary School view the young herons. The Heron Explainers Project is sponsored by the Golden Gate Audubon Society and the California Academy of Sciences. Great Blue Heron in nest at Stow Lake.
Guests can use spotting scopes for unobstructed close-ups of the birds.
DeStefanis, a naturalist for the Stow Lake Education Project and the San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory, discovered the first pair of nesting great blue herons in San Francisco history in 1993.