Subject: Re: GBH Nest, UW campus
Date: Apr 17 15:44:33 1995
From: Thomas Cotner - tcotner at u.washington.edu


David,
I have been actively observing this GBH "nest" for over 1 month now.
The nest was occupied for about 3-3 1/2 weeks by a pair of herons and
then has apparently been abandoned about 10 days ago. My
original motive for keeping a close watch on the nest was surprise at
how early they were nesting and the fact that the nest is in a very
exposed location of top of a conifer. All of the GBH roosts and nests
that I have previously observed in this and other states have been in
deciduous trees. I was prepared to be amazed if they laid eggs in this
nest because it would have been extremely vulnerable to predation by
eagles or crows ( you can look down with an unobstructed view on the nest
from the 8th floor of the U. of Washington hospital). Since they began
roosting prior to the trees (cottonwoods, etc.) being leaved in around
here (it has been an unusually early spring), this may have been a
contingency nest or they may have intended all along to build a second nest
in a less vulnerable location once the deciduous trees leaved in.
Although I have once seen a single heron come back to roost in the early
morning, the pair of herons has not been seen for at least 10 days and I
think it is probably abandoned. Please let me know if you see any activity.

Tom Cotner
Dept. of Pediatrics, UW
tcotner at u.washington.edu
(206) 543-6755

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"In the end, we will conserve only what we love, we will love only what
we understand, and we will understand only what we are taught."
-- Baba Dioum, Senegalese conservationist
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