Great Blue Heron Ardea herodias is a species commonly sighted on Sable Island, some as late as early December. Within a few days of Hurricane Wilma, six were seen on the island – four feeding at the west ponds, one on the west spit, and one corpse washed ashore on the north beach. Since these conspicuous birds had not been sighted prior to the storm, it is likely they arrived with Wilma.