We analysed the spatial relationship between the location and the size of the 112 grey heron colonies existing in 1994 in the two refuge areas after their decline of the species in the 19th century in France: South Brittany (Loire-Atlantique and Morbihan), and eastern France (Haute-Saône, Saône-et-Loire, Meurthe-et-Moselle, Vosges). We tested 35 variables describing the hydrographical network surrounding the colonies from a local to a regional scale using a Geographic Information System. The results show that, whatever the scale, the distribution of the breeding colonies was not governed by the same elements of the hydrographical network in the different areas. Two strategies of spatial utilization were observed between the western and the eastern parts of France. Moreover, two quite distinct situations were also distinguished between Morbihan and Loire-Atlantique. This study stresses that the type and the spatial organization of the hydrographical elements, but also of the history of the populations, are important in the distribution of the Grey Heron colonies.