The heronry on Burley Lagoon (Purdy spit), Pierce County just south of the
Kitsap line, seems to be doing okay this spring with most of the 30+ nests
with birds on or near them last week. Looks like a couple of trees went
down in the storms, but most are fine.

Diane Yorgason-Quinn
Wauna, WA
Avosetta at hotmail.com

----- Original Message -----
From: "Christine Southwick" <clsouth at u.washington.edu>
To: <tweeters at u.washington.edu>
Sent: Wednesday, March 14, 2007 3:50 PM
Subject: [Tweeters] Fwd: Heron Colony Abandonment Dynamics (fwd)


> Posting for Don Norman, who is not currently a member
>
> Christine Southwick
> N Seattle/ Shoreline
>
> clsouthwick at comcast.net
> From: "Puget Sound Birds" <pugetsoundbird at gmail.com>
> To: szkrom at drizzle.com, tweeters at u.washington.edu,
> science at seattleaudubon.org
> Date: Wed, 14 Mar 2007 16:36:08 -0500
> Subject: Heron Colony Abandonment Dynamics
> Suzanne-
> It is great that you have continued to monitor the Black River colony
> to note the change in its numbers. Data from annual monitoring by the
> Province and Canadian Wildlife Service in BC has shown that heron
> colonies do change over time, likely due to changes in food supply in
> an area, as well as possibly some age dynamics in colonies. We know
> that Black River has even been abandoned and re-occupied over the past
> 20 years. We still do not have repository for observations to be
> sent. Perhaps we can see if ebird has the capacity to receive such
> data. Obviously, the details of number of nests etc.. is more detail
> than is currently collected by ebird. Check out the Avian Knowledge
> Network, also part of Cornell. Getting an online dataentry system for
> such observations beyone ebird is a major objective of the newly
> formed Puget Sound Bird Observatory.
>
> It is important to note that this year we had three MAJOR storm events
> that could have also drastically increased the mortality of herons
> across the NW over the winter. The two worst freezes in well over a
> decade and the worst wind storm in 40 years are both heron killers.
> Can other folks looking at colonies send Russell Link and myself info?
> It is likely that specific disturbances coupled with such stressors
> may be responsible for fewer birds being at the colony. The colony at
> Maury Island, which had 120 nests suddenly abandoned in the middle of
> the nesting season in 1994, with the possibility that there was a
> shooting of a heron (never confirmed). Those birds have never
> returned. We have no idea where they went. Bainbridge?
>
> Having monitored the Kenmore colony closely when the Park and Ride was
> being constructed, and also having Adolphson biologists onsite, we
> never even noticed at least 13 visits in March and April into the
> colonty by GeoCachers, obviously not right when we were doing the
> monitoring, that went UNDER the colony to put their name in the can
> left there. We have no idea whether that caused the failure of nests,
> but it is certainly a possibility. With so much access at Black
> River, it is certainly possible some is causing disturbance.
>
> Finally, I have been interested in whether the adult female herons
> were using the mouth of the Cedar River as a location to store up
> calories for their eggs by feeding on spawning smelt. I have observed
> birds feeding at night there in the past and changes in that area
> could be responsible for disrupting the females. This has always been
> a theory of why this colony starts earlier than the saltwater
> colonies, which Rob Butler showed were related to daytime spring
> tides.
>
> Changes continue to occur in the area where most of the herons appear
> to be foraging to the south of the colony in the Kent valley, so we
> must also remember that there needs to be foraging areas, as well as
> alternative nesting sites protected for the herons.
>
> I wonder if there are volunteers who wish to brave the cold evenings
> at Lake Sammamish State Park, the mouth of the Sammamish Slough at
> Kenmore to look for the smelt spawning. I have heard reports from
> Issaquah Creek of herons foraging at night, but never confirmed them,
> and looked for birds at Kenmore but never saw any the one FREEZING
> night I went out in a canoe... perhaps on clear nights the smelt can
> see the herons???
>
> I have excellent protocols as well as datasheets to record arrivals
> and departures, and would be glad to email them to anyone
> interested...
>
> don
> Please note that I have a new email on gmail and do not check my AOL
> account daily.
>
> Donald Norman
> Norman Wildlife Consulting
> and Go Natives Nursery (Email: gonatives at gmail.com)
> www.gonatives.com