oly friends of herons

Return?

2010-03-04T11:23:00.000-08:00

Jean, who lives on Woodard Ave, reports that she was leaving the co-op on March 1 and saw 30 herons in the sky. They settled in trees at the end of Bowman Avenue, a few blocks from the location where they've nested in previous years.

Breeding season has commenced

2010-02-21T11:00:00.000-08:00

According to the literature, the heron breeding season begins in mid-February. Amy Buckler, the city planner, reports that the developer has renewed his land use application since the original approval expired. The development still calls for 6 townhomes to be built on the site that has been cleared directly east of the rookery.

The status of the land the rookery actually sits on is unclear. It is still owned by an out-of-state owner, according to the county records (which Amy Buckler says are often need to be updated.) No for sale sign is posted there. Yet the fact that the developer considered expending the number of townhomes by utilizing this site suggests that it is up for grabs.

I posted the site plan for the town homes at right, with the other maps. If you click on it, it will enlarge.

Disturbance

2009-10-05T11:10:00.000-07:00

Gretchen-the-biologist sent me a bulletin on herons a while ago. It's not for posting, because it was only a draft document ("Survey protocol for measuring reproductive productivity at Pacific GBH breeding colonies"), but I think it's okay for me to post this excerpt, because it is pertinent:

Colony response should be tested and recorded using Data Sheet #3 (Colony Disturbance Summary). The various responses by birds are as follows (record all responses that occur):

No response. Birds ignore the observer. They may stare and subsequently look elsewhere, as other activities occur in the colony.

Stare. Birds view is fixed on the observer. This is particularly noticed when birds peer over the nest at an observer in the colony.

Chortle or cluck. The first sign that birds are disturbed is a low nasal “cluck” (Vennesland 2000), or "chortle" (Moul 1990). This activity may be continuous or start and stop as movement of the researcher occurs.

Stand. Incubating birds rise off the nest, or move around in the nest.

Off nest. Birds leave the nest, but stay on a branch nearby.

Scream. After chortling, the next progression in vocal alarm is screaming. This is a very loud vocalization and usually occurs with, or immediately prior to, flushing. Researchers must never cause this disturbance as it shows extreme stress (such as during a successful predator attack).

Flush/Return. Birds fly away, typically as individuals, circle and return to the nest. Researchers must never cause this disturbance, as it can lead directly to colony abandonment.

Flush/Leave. Birds fly away as a group and do not return until observer leaves the colony. Researchers must never cause this disturbance, as it is likely to cause colony abandonment.

I'm not sure how researchers are to execute this test. When the leaves come down it'll be interesting to get the nest count.

Another conclusion

2009-09-01T15:48:00.000-07:00

It is possible that it was the increase in human foot traffic that led to nest abandonment. This is partly the fault of the road, partly the fault of the web site.

So the creation of the web site could have had, all in all, a negative impact on the heron population. Would the road have been created so far ahead of construction had there not been signs that people were watching what happened to this parcel?

Closed for season

2009-08-05T11:51:00.000-07:00

Breeding activity has concluded. I haven't seen herons at the site for at least a week.

Here is my strictly non-scientific assessment of what happened this year, post-road right-of-way. Initially there seemed to be an increase in heron activity, with new nest construction. Some of the nests, however, were abandoned early on--I'm not sure whether before or after eggs were hatched.

Still, I heard and saw a lot of post hatching activity. Later in the season, though, there appeared to be abandonment of nests, perhaps due to eagle predation as described by Susan.

My theory is that the road provided improved access, for herons and for eagles. This lead to the increase in nest-building activity and the subsequent abandonment of nests, as eagles started feeding on young birds. It will be interesting to get the nest count once the leaves have fallen. But this will not tell us how many of those nests successfully fledged chicks. Toward the end of the season I was only hearing/seeing birds at two nests.

Number of fledglings?

2009-07-30T11:01:00.001-07:00

It seems that the number of young herons present at the rookery has dropped. So I asked Susan, who lives a block away, for this first-hand account:

"On July 11th my brother and niece came to visit. We decided to walk over to the heron rookery just around the corner from my house. Sierra had never seen anything like it before and was excited to see a heron way up in the alders and maples. It was a little hard for her to see them so high above. Along the dirt road near the open clearing we discovered grey feathers, feet and a beak; the remnants of an unlucky heron that had been a predator's meal. Then, as we were peering into the trees to see the wide gray areas on the ground as clues to which trees have nests, we spotted a heron standing on the ground. What a discovery for an 8 year old! It was staying very still, probably trying not to be noticed. We started speculating as to what it might be doing. Could it have survived a fall from the nest? Possibly. Did it land and walk down there on purpose? It didn't seem likely. We had questions. Would it learn to fly? Was there enough room between the trees for those big wings to spread out? How long had it been there? Was it hungry? We wondered if it needed some urging to get out in the open where it might be possible for it to try flying. We decided to go into the woods to get a better look, even with the risk of being covered in those fishy smelling gray droppings that cover the ground under each nest. We didn't get too close to the heron, but we made our way through ivy and fallen limbs past the heron. It certainly watched us and started to move away if it felt we were headed towards it. Once we were past, we started moving in its direction to herd it out to the cleared area next to the rookery. Watching those long legs from 20 to 30 feet away was amazing. They have an awkward grace when on the ground. At one point the bird opened its wings and lifted about a foot off the ground, but went back to walking. Once it was out in the open we stopped to see what it would do. It moved away from us in the open, then went back into the cover of the trees. Oh, well. I guess it wasn't going to fly that day. We went home. There, a neighbor showed us the heron shells she had collected under the nests when the chicks were hatching as the pieces were kicked out of the nest. They are a light blue and seemed to be just slightly larger than a chicken egg. We all wondered about that heron for the next week. How was it doing? Would it survive? The next Saturday, July 18th, my brother's whole family came for a visit. Both my nieces this time. We walked to the rookery to see if our grounded heron was still there. We didn't see it. Jessica was disappointed that she didn't get to see it after listening to Sierra's stories all week long. We did see some herons in their nests in the trees. We got to hear their odd, prehistoric sounding calls. We talked about the predators that they have to contend with. From the sky they are attacked by eagles, hawks, and at night, owls. From the ground there are raccoons. As we walked further along the dirt road Sierra noticed something out in the open clearing, "Look! I think something got a heron!" She was right. Up ahead we could see the blue feathers and something bright red. We wondered if it had been our heron in the woods from last week. The girls wanted to see it, even though it might 'gross them out.' Most of the bird was eaten, just feathers, feet, head, beak, and a little muscle tissue still attached to some bones remained. We could tell that this happened just recently. The muscle tissue wasn't even dried out. We had heard quite a ruckus from while still at my house a little earlier that same afternoon. We decided that was probably when the attack occurred. We all felt sad for the herons, but we knew that what ever ate it (possibly an eagle) probably had young to feed, too. Living a block away from a heron rookery can be quite loud at times. As I learn more about them I can predict what may be occurring as I hear the varuous sounds from my backyard. Early in the breeding season I see herons landing in the fir trees near my house to pick out branches an twigs for nest building. When they fly in low it seems I can almost feel the wind move as they beat their huge wings. After a few weeks we start to hear a sound like ducks quacking and we know that the chicks are starting to hatch. When it sounds like a lot of ducks are talking all at once we think a parent must be approaching with food. As the weeks continue to pass the quacking sound becomes more prehistoric sounding. (I like to pretend I live in "Land of the Lost" with pteradactyls flying over regularly.) Every few days I hear all the herons start making noise at once. It can be quite loud and any time of the day or night. I now know that indicates a predator attacking. Luckily the population seems to grow inspite of the predators. About 5 years ago when we moved to this house there was only a couple of nests. Now the trees are full of them."

End?

2009-07-19T12:05:00.000-07:00

I went to view the rookery yesterday at four pm. Saw one heron on a nest and heard another vocalizing, but was surprised by the overall lack of activity; did not see any herons fly in or out.

Not sure what this means. Last year the young fledged right before the mid-August "official" end of the breeding season (i.e. when construction can begin).

My first thought was that the warm weather had sped up the season.

Young heron

2009-07-06T12:14:00.000-07:00

On July 4, we went to the end of the road to observe the herons and saw a young heron walking along a log on the forest floor. Our assumption was this it had fallen or been pushed out of the nest, possibly when attempting to fly.

The bird was 2/3 the size of an adult bird, had a yellow beak but nondescript plumage. We left it to wander the forest since none of us were capable of climbing up to the nest to put it back.

There are still no further signs of construction at the site.

Best case scenario

2009-07-02T10:58:00.000-07:00

I was thinking about Emily's comments (see last post) and came to the conclusion that the best outcome for the rookery might result if someone bought the land (parcel # 09030002001) for speculation, a place to park some money (since the stock market is not a good parking spot). Then the townhomes would be built on the lower parcel, and either the birds would move or tolerate the disturbance. There is a colony at Stanley Park in B.C. that tolerates disturbance and eagles--amazingly.

Then, later, development would come, or not. I think being in proximity to the rookery would be a big asset for homeowners, if they are passionate enough about nature to want to tolerate the noise.

More townhomes?

2009-06-18T19:30:00.000-07:00

Amy Buckler, planner for the city, said that (back in March) Glenn Wells, the architect/developer for the townhomes, had what's called a "pre-submission hearing" to build 9 more townhomes on the land that the rookery occupies. He is not listed as the owner of the land (which is, apparently, for sale) but people can request such a hearing to discuss the feasability of a proposal before, say, the purchase of a piece of property for development, to let the builder know what sort of issues they would have to confront.

The city's critical areas ordinance provides protection for endangered species, so great blue herons present no barrier to development except that their nests are protected during the breeding season. The urban forester consults with developers to assess whether certain trees are to be preserved, but the presence of nests do not confer special consideration for trees.

The heron nests were discussed at the hearing. Amy Buckler said she'd let olyfriendsofherons.org know if there is any further action on the property.

Land sale

2009-06-17T10:18:00.000-07:00

The grapevine reports that the parcel on which the nests are actually located is up for sale (currently, the road to the development has been cleared through this parcel, #09030002001). The web site zillow.com says that it comprises 2.8 acres and values it at $242,000.

Olyfriendsofherons is waiting to hear back from the city about the status of the land. And what protection, if any, is given to the trees in which nests are located.

No construction has begun yet, though the site for the townhomes, directly east of the rookery, has been cleared.

One gone

2009-05-22T10:22:00.000-07:00

The clattering of the new hatchlings made it apparent, that when a person stood at the end of the road, there was a nest almost directly overhead. However, that nest now appears to be abandoned, and I wonder if this was a result of its proximity to all the neighborhood disturbances--and viewers like me.

Yesterday

2009-05-15T09:43:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, a clucking/clattering sound came from the closest nest, steady but irregular (building then tapering but never dying entirely.) I though at first it was starlings, but realized that now is the time for chicks to be hatching. Other nests that earlier had appeared abandoned had birds standing on them, though some are indeed abandoned. Not as many as I feared. Perhaps birds were hunkered down on eggs and therefore not visible.

I'm reading a library book, The Great Blue Heron, by Robert Butler, who draws his data from coastal B.C. Fledging of young takes 3 months, according to Butler, so given an August 15 end-of-breeding date here in Olympia, now is the time for hatching of chicks.

A man riding along Rogers St with 5 small children on bicycles pointed down toward where I was parked and said: "The herons live down that street." So the secret location of the rookery is out.

Butler mentions, however, the urban locations of some B.C. rookeries--most notably the longstanding one in Stanley Park.

Not looking good

2009-05-09T13:47:00.000-07:00

About a week ago I saw, out my window, a large bird flying toward the rookery, and I thought: oh nice, a heron...then I saw that the large bird had a white tail and I thought: uh oh.

Ever since, I've been seeing fewer and fewer birds on nests at the rookery. For the last two days, I've seen only one bird sitting on a nest.

The leaves eclipse the nests, however. The nests are lare enough that a bird hunkered down in one would not be visible. But there is less activity now, fewer birds to be seen flying around or perched.

Leaves are out

2009-04-28T13:42:00.000-07:00

Soon the view from the road will be eclipsed, but here is a picture shot by Jim Hill, who lives on Rogers. It was suggested by one of the city planners that we get proof the nests are actively in use.

Any day the view from the road will be gone

2009-04-25T12:39:00.000-07:00

The leaves are growing, and fewer nests can be seen from the road. However there is lots of heron activity, and nests that appear vacant often have a bird rise up from the depths of them like a snakecharmer's snake, whenever the partner-bird flies in with additional nest-building materials. The pair then work on inserting it.

Correction

2009-04-19T13:31:00.000-07:00

So yesterday I talked with a woman who lives in a house overlooking the ravine where the heron nesting takes place. She has lived there for five years and said that when she first arrived there were "a few" heron nests and that the herons had been adding to the rookery at the rate of about two nests a year, until this year, when she estimates the rookery size increased by about a third, with lots of new nest construction.

One conclusion that can be drawn from this is that the logging of the area somehow made the location more desirable. Or...some other rookery may have been lost, or...or...

Less raucous activity now, generally one bird is established at each nest, which I take to mean that egg-laying has commenced.

Viewing

2009-04-16T10:32:00.000-07:00

Before the leaves of the alders pop out, twelve nests can be seen from the end of the road. One bird is usually sitting in each, sometimes two, though some nests I thought were incomplete or abandoned subsequently had birds sitting in them.

And what I can see from the road is limited. Activity can also be heard happening further south, and I don't know what's going on to the east, where the condos will be located. All told, it seems there is an increase in the population of the rookery over last year, despite the cutting of trees for the roadway.

Right now, birds can be seen engaged in nesting activity. One bird will collect a stick and pass it to another who is waiting at the nest, and then the birds engage in the complicated project of wedging the stick in place.

Theory

2009-03-31T13:08:00.000-07:00

Yesterday (3/30) Susan Stillwell, who lives on Hays, told me that she saw "more than 20 but less than 50" herons circling in the air some days ago. I had just returned from the end of the road where one can see/where I did see ten herons engaged in nest-building activity (herons passing sticks to one another and inserting them), but also some unoccupied nests, whereas when I'd been there on 3/27 all visible nests were occupied.

Presence of an eagle might have resulted in the birds' being in the air. It might also explain the drop in numbers/nest occupancy that I've been wondering about.

Now you see them

2009-03-30T14:33:00.000-07:00

On 3/29, 15 birds were visible from the road, many sitting on nests also visible. Nest building was in process at some sites. On 3/30, no herons were visible and therefore I couldn't determine the location of most of the nests. One worry is that the opening of the canopy will allow bald eagles to move in.

Here is a picture taken by Meesh Miller from the road, with nests circled.

Thanks to Ray

2009-03-23T10:31:00.000-07:00

It was my mailman Ray Maeda that first reported seeing a pair of GBHs on a nest, the nest being visible from one of his stops. That is the only nest that had seemed active.

But a friend reported seeing four herons flying from the woods on Saturday, which suggests breeding activity might be expanding.

signs of breeding activity

2009-03-19T17:42:00.000-07:00

This afternoon at 3 pm, two herons were sitting on a nest at the edge of the clearing that has been made for the new road. With the leaves down, four nests can be seen from the end of the paved road, and it was the closest nest that was occupied.

I decided to leave the area, but after I withdrew just a few yards I began to hear some great blue heron-ish squawks and croaks. Because I'd retreated, I wasn't sure where the noise was coming from, but it sounded as if it were coming from further south than the occupied nest I'd seen. No herons were visible to the south, but I'd retreated before getting a good look at the other nests that can be seen from the end of the road.

This is a very hopeful sign. Because I'd not seen any herons in a week or two, I feared that opening up the canopy caused them to abandon the old nests. But apparently not.

It would be a great outcome if development and the rookery could co-exist. Because this property sits close to the heart of the city, its development at a relatively-high density will combat sprawl. Thoughtful careful development, with effective mitigation, will with any luck result in continued occupancy of the westside rookery.

Other reports

2009-03-01T11:30:00.000-08:00

Jim Kane, who lives at the end of the road, reports that he has seen two herons in the area for several days, several days ago. (He said: "I was disappointed that they didn't set up housekeeping.")

It seems many residents are waiting anxiously to see whether nesting will resume. Jim also reports seeing a birdwatcher in suit and tie who was scanning for the herons. This surprised him, but then he added: "I guess everyone should look at birds."

News flash

2009-02-28T10:24:00.000-08:00

The breeding season is supposed to have commenced, though many of us think: wait, it's still winter. HOWEVER last night at about 5 pm, two herons were indeed circling and croaking just south of the heronry.
I hope this is a sign that breeding activity is set to re-commence on the west side.

If that occurs, then let's also hope that construction does not (luckily the economic picture does not look bright for new construction). Or that construction can take place when the herons aren't on their nests. It would seem to be a great asset for the townhomes, to have a heronry nearby.

In the meantime, other people who see signs of breeding activity should send it in.

From the city

2009-02-05T20:12:00.000-08:00

Brett Bures is now the planner responsible for the Wells West Townhomes project. He passed along an email from Todd Stamm, who is a senior planner for the city. Todd wrote:

"In general the Wells West townhouse site is adjacent to the heron rookery. Because great blue herons are not an endangered, threatened or sensitive species, they are not directly protected by our critical areas ordinance. However, other state and federal rules prohibit harm to active nesting sites. Land use approval was granted and as interim forester Friddle worked with F&W staff to identify a seasonal window when trees on Wells’ site could be removed. We authorized tree removal/clearing of this site during that ‘window’ when the heron nests were not occupied – and I think it has been completed. (This required an exception to normal ‘no clearing and grading’ during winter.) I do not recall if the land use decision imposes additional conditions during construction to mitigate impacts to the nests on the adjacent property.

Also, note that this breeding area is a designated “priority area” by F&W and if development of the parcel including the rookery is proposed we may exercise SEPA authority to avoid or mitigate impacts."

According to the information on this site, breeding commences 2/15, so if anyone sees any breeding behavior, please post it as a comment.