The Baotou Nanhaizi wetland is an important part of the Yellow River wetland ecosystem, served as a stopover for many migratory birds and water source for living in Baotou City. However, in recent years, the quality of wetland ecological environment has been declining due to effluence of industrial wastewater. Bird feathers can serve as indicators for environmental monitoring and indirectly help to assess a wetland ecological environment. After the breeding season, primary feathers of three heron species, the Eurasian Spoonbill (Platalea leucorodia), the Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea) and the Black-crowned Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax), and environmental factors (e.g., water, soil and food) were collected from the Nanhaizi wetland in Baotou, Inner Mongolia. In November, 2016, the heavy metal content was measured using an inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometer (ICP-OES) for 10 elements, namely, As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb, Zn, and Hg. Differences of heavy metal contents of the feathers were compared using one-way ANOVA, the relationship of heavy metal contents between the feathers of three Ardeidae species and environment were analyzed by bioconcentration factor and Pearson correlation test to examine the status of heavy metal pollution and its enrichment characteristics in the Nanhaizi wetland. We found that: (1) The levels of As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Pb, Zn, and Hg had exceeded the standard in wetland environment, especially in soil, Fe, Zn and Cu had reached the level of severe pollution. (2) The remnants of different heavy metal elements in heron feathers varied among different species, with the highest being Fe of the Eurasian Spoonbill (388.77 mg/kg), and the least being Cd of the Black-crowned Night Heron (0.12 mg/kg). The decreasing order of heavy metal contents in the feathers of Eurasian Spoonbill was as follows: Fe > Zn > Mn > Cu > Hg > Cr > Ni > Pb > As > Cd, with Zn > Fe > Cu > Cr > Ni > As > Mn > Hg > Pb > Cd for the Grey Heron and Zn > Fe > Mn > Cu > Ni > Pb > Hg > Cr > As > Cd for the Black-crowned Night Heron. The levels of all detected elements (except Pb and Cd) differed significantly among the three species. (3) Pearson correlation analysis showed that the heavy metal contents in heron feathers were significantly correlated with that in the environment, and some metal elements were enriched in the feathers. In conclusion, bird feathers can be used as an indicator to monitor the local environmental pollution with the aim of providing a scientific basis for local governments to carry out assessments of the environment.