Subject: [Tweeters] UW heronry update
Date: Mar 22 14:20:50 2011
From: April Wilkinson - amwilk at u.washington.edu


Hello all,

A great reading from her book "In My Nature," by Connie Sidles on the UW
campus today (many thanks, Connie!). During the Q&A afterward there was
brief discussion of the UW heronry, so I decided to swing by the site
before going back to my office. I first saw activity in the heronry
this season on Valentine's Day, when there were four adult Great Blue
Herons. A quick count today revealed a total of 18 nests (at least 12
of which were occupied - some nests remaining from previous seasons,
some apparently new nests in early stages of construction) and 16 adult
birds - surely there are more as the traffic to/from the nest sites is
continuous throughout the day.

For those who are interested, the UW heronry is located on both sides of
Rainier Vista, which runs southeast from Drumheller Fountain to Stevens
Way, with a view of Mt. Rainier (and the Light Rail construction site)
in the distance. The nests are in deciduous trees (I don't know what
species) on the east-ish side of the walk near the Electrical
Engineering building and Sylvan Grove, and on the west-ish side of the
walk near the Chemistry Building.

Good birding,
April

amwilk (at) uw (dot) edu
Seattle