Yesterday,Monday 4/19, about 5 nests were visibly occupied, some by one bird some by two.
Now I am wondering if female birds were flying off the nest because the eggs had not been laid. Or if the laying birds hunker down in the nest in such a manner that they can't be seen.
At least: construction can't begin this season (is my understanding of "the rules," whatever they are. Laws? I'll tell the biological powers that be.
With any luck, people will post here pertinent observations, particularly sightings of eagles or other raptors. Send then as comments.
Mission Statement
The Oly Friends of Herons web site was created to provide information relating to the Great Blue Herons that nest in the vicinity of the west side Olympia Food Co-op. The nests are located in an area slated for development; 6 townhomes are going to be built 3 blocks northeast of the Co-op.
If anyone is reading this, please leave a comment so I'll know you're out there.
Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife biologists recomend that this web site not reveal the exact location of nests. The presence of people can disrupt breeding activity. Nests can be observed with binoculars or spotting scopes from the road. The link to Black River Herons also provides information about how herons are observed there without disruption.
On this site, I hope to answer questions such as: What are the developer's responsibilities re: the rookery? What parameters do great blues use for selecting nesting sites? Will trees that meet these parameters be left in the two tree lots that the development will have? What does the developer think about the herons?
If anyone is reading this, please leave a comment so I'll know you're out there.
Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife biologists recomend that this web site not reveal the exact location of nests. The presence of people can disrupt breeding activity. Nests can be observed with binoculars or spotting scopes from the road. The link to Black River Herons also provides information about how herons are observed there without disruption.
On this site, I hope to answer questions such as: What are the developer's responsibilities re: the rookery? What parameters do great blues use for selecting nesting sites? Will trees that meet these parameters be left in the two tree lots that the development will have? What does the developer think about the herons?
Thurston County Rookeries
Click for a map.
Site Plan for Townhomes
Click to see the plan.
Area to be Developed
Click for Geodata map
Heron Links
Olympia Links
Labels
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- I coined a word (1)
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- birds are fickle (1)
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- but didn't croak (1)
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- now you don't (1)
- obfuscation (1)
- only is relative (1)
- perhaps it is not over (1)
- sayonara (1)
- something to beware of (1)
- the official story (1)
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- we are part of the problem (1)
- what the young look like now (1)
- wishful thinking. (1)
3 comments:
Lucia,
Terrible news. I went out in the storm and could only see one nest occupied. I walked into the forest and the ground is scattered with broken eggs. The wind is really whipping the trees around. There are crows on the ground, presumably for what's inside the eggs (light blue, about 2-3 inches long and fits the descriptions I found online). There is still one bird up there, holding out in a nest that is the lower nest on a tree with two nests. It is the largest and deepest nest I can see. From the ground, I see nests missing half their structures.
Jenna
Lucia,
It's 8:00 p.m. I went back out again. There are more birds in the nests than there first appeared. While I was out, a bird arrived and perched above a nest. A heron came out of the nest. I put an orange bow on that tree and it is visible from the road. I saw anothe heron briefly stand up from a nest just past that, and could hear two other birds off in other directions but could not tell which trees they were in. More birds are arriving.
Jenna
Oh. I forgot to mention, I looked more carefully at some of the eggs on the ground. You can see the contents of some of them spilled on the ground and one was just barely ruined, with a white a yellow substance, like a chicken's egg. No visible "body" in it. It is hard to see all the eggs that must have fallen because the ivy is so thick, but I counted thirty distinct eggs on the ground before I tired of that excercise. There is one sitting on my front porch.
J
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