Heron is up the creek not far from the coast (7)
I believe the answer is:
inshore
'not far from the coast' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'heron is up the creek' is the wordplay.
'up the creek' indicates anagramming the letters.
'heron'+'is'='heronis'
'heronis' anagrammed gives 'INSHORE'.
(Other definitions for inshore that I've seen before include "coming in to land" , "place near coast" , "No heirs (anag.)" , "Close to the land" , "not far from the coast" .)