I have noticed the increased heron activity at the
locks as well. I have lived in this neighborhood for
eight years and I have never seen more gbh activity
than this year. The sky is absolutely filled with
gbh's. They are landing on rooftops and seem almost to
be bumping into each other. The thing that has me
puzzled were the reports of hatchling predation by
Bald Eagles at this site a year ago. The impression at
that time was this nesting site would be in decline
due to predation. This site is also under pressure
from development. Given these factors how do we
attribute the seeming rise in the heron population at
this site?

On a different subject. I was at my son's school
carnival yesterday. The school is on top of Magnolia
and to the southern end. I spent most the afternoon
outside. On one occasion I looked up to see a large
falcon flying from the southwest to the northeast. It
was quite high up and backlit in all the sun. I could
ID it by the pointed wingtips, the box tail and its
flight pattern. I watched it assuming it would fly out
of my sight. Instead it flew to about Interbay and
started to circle as if to hunt. My attention was
diverted and when I looked back it was gone. I puzzled
about what it could be hunting. The golf course is
there as well as the train tracks. Driving across
Dravus Street this morning I noticed the multitude of
pigeons on the wire above the tracks. Has anyone
spotted a Falcon hunting in this area? It's just south
of the Ballard Bridge where Peregrines have been
spotted in other seasons.

John Hanske,
Magnolia, Seattle


> Date: Sat, 23 Mar 2002 20:18:36 -0800
> From: Cliff Drake <cliff at cliffdrake.net>
> To: TWEETERS at u.washington.edu
> Subject: Kiwanis Herons
>
> During a very active morning I counted 56 Great Blue
> Herons in and around
> the Kiwanis Heronry. Thirty one circling the
> heronry, twenty on the
> fueling pier, and five in the trees at the locks.
> Lots of flying around and
> lots of standing in nests. I never left the
> locks/Commodore Park so I could
> have missed a goodly number in the heronry. and
> elsewhere. Adding to the
> flying around were a Red-tailed Hawk, and an Imm.
> Bald Eagle that stopped
> on the dead top of the Giant Sequoia. Everyone was
> upset with the Eagle,
> Crows, Gulls, Herons, Ducks, Pigeons, they created a
> wonderful
> cacophony. For those that are interested in such
> things, the Red-tail and
> the Eagle seemed disinterested in the heronry. Too
> early for one thing, I
> guess.
>
> Someone asked me recently why we call it a heronry
> and not a rookery. I
> couldn't answer him other than to say everyone else
> does it. So why do we?
>
> Well, cheers and happy spring
>
> Cliff Drake
> Seattle WA
> cliff at cliffdrake.net
>
>



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