Herons Have Faith in the Future

We are excited and energized. Filled with hope and inspiration. The discovery of 46 new nest trees during the annual heron colony count on a Saturday in November uplifts and awes us.

This discovery tells us the world – at least the heron world – is not going to hell in a hand-basket. Heron parents are seeing a bright future – a newly secured buffer zone surrounds the colony. “It is NOT a rookery,” says Ann Eissinger, the wildlife biologist who monitors this site. “Rooks live in a rookery; herons live in a heronry or colony, pul-ease!”

Eissinger’s business and passion is Nahkeeta Northwest, offering wildlife services and education from her three-person office in Bow, Washington. In addition to the Birch Bay colony, she monitors and documents Great Blue Heron activity at Post Point, Samish Island and other Western Washington and British Columbia sites.  

On this particular windy, gloomy Saturday, eight sturdy volunteer foot soldiers for the environment joined Eissinger (and faithful dog Cyrus) on the annual nest tree count in Birch Bay. Eissinger led us across the parking lot, into the tall grass, pointing out the area recently purchased to extend the buffer zone for the colony. Collaboration between the county, a land trust and a dedicated local realtor concluded a lengthy negotiation for this 15-acre buffer addition.     

Being previously warned to wear boots and anticipate wet walking, we were only slightly daunted by the underbrush and swampland. Upon reaching a slight clearing, Eissinger briefed us on our task, divided us into three groups, equipped us with the necessary tools, and thrust us out into the land of the heron. Only none was home.

Eissinger estimates some 300 birds live here part-time. They gather in a staging area on or about March 15 each year. The mass of fowl stand like fence posts in a field east of Jackson Road just across from the Birch Bay Community Bible Church for a week or so. Fortunately, they can discern which are male and female, but the rest of us can’t. Then, pairing up and seeking the male’s former nest, or creating a new one, the female lays eggs through August. After 28 days of incubation, the four or five eggs per nest hatch and the surviving one or two fledglings depart in about eight weeks. Survival is a battle against predators, accidents, illness and siblings. The adults disperse to their winter roosts, in various parts of Western Washington and British Columbia. By this Saturday in November, all is quiet in the colony. The leaves are off the trees, so we can see and count the nests.

Our little group of three, Al, Ruth and Annette Janzen, set off on our assigned route. Our task is to locate previously identified trees, record the tag number, identify the type of tree (a challenge even with Eissinger’s detailed description), assess the tree’s condition (excellent, good, poor or dead), count the number of existing nests and any blow-downs (evidence of a dysfunctional nest for any reason), and add a small strip of white tape to the tag nail to show the tree was counted this year.

If we found a nest in a tree that had not been previously tagged, we recorded it on the log, giving it our sequential number and wrapping white tape around the trunk to alert the survey team of Eissinger and her stalwart assistant Larry Bateman. They plotted all new nest trees by distance and direction from known trees, later analysis showing that the new nursery is expanding westward from the original colony.

On the trunk-encircling tape, we wrote our identifying initials (AAR – Annette, Al & Ruth), our number and the date. We were delighted to discover 23 new nest trees in our area; Eissinger later pointed out we had missed some. With those and more spied by the other teams, some 46 new trees this year, the total nest count is 328.

We are full of hope for the future. Forty-six heron couples can’t be wrong. 

~~~

Nahkeeta Northwest Wildlife Services, a certified woman owned business, provides technical services including endangered species, biological assessment and site planning. They offer education, tours and volunteer opportunities. For more information call 360-766-6008; email NNW2@fidalgo.net; web site www. Fidalgo.net/~nahkeeta.

    Prudent Ventures Site Copyright © 2007 by Al Krause & Ruth Higgins

ARTICLES   |   PHOTOS   |   HOME