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A heron family of the downtown Olympia rookery is shown within one of the towering pine trees on B Avenue Northeast and Capitol Way North. Rollin Geppert Photo courtesy of Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. <\/p>\n
Capitol Way North isn\u2019t only home to the Olympia Farmers Market or the port, but also an urban colony of more than 100 great blue herons.<\/p>\n
The towering pine trees on the corner of B Avenue Northeast have hosted the rookery for years. It\u2019s not one of the state Department of Fish and Wildlife\u2019s active monitoring sites, but agency biologists working in Olympia still pay attention to the distinctive heronry.<\/p>\n
According to Allison Anholt, WDFW\u2019s shorebird and colonial waterbird species lead biologist, the colony\u2019s population peaked this summer at 60 pairs of birds.<\/p>\n
Herons prefer colonies towering far above predators and with access to fish, Anholt explained. As colonial nesting birds, herons create large rookeries as a group defense strategy from airborne hunters like eagles.<\/p>\n
\u201cMore eyes are better than just your own when keeping on the lookout for predators,\u201d Anholt said. \u201cIf a predator does come, it\u2019s less statistically likely that they\u2019ll come for your nest because yours is just one of hundreds.\u201d<\/p>\n
Anholt added that Capitol Way provides another layer of protection for the rookery: ground predators, like raccoons, must weave through vehicle traffic to access the colony.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s pretty fun to be able to have one right downtown like that \u2013 it\u2019s special for that reason,\u201d Anholt said. \u201cThey\u2019re really obliging and visible, and often heron rookeries are not like that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Still, the urban environment presents potential challenges for the heronry. Birds nest closer to the ground in remote areas, Anholt explained, which creates less danger when chicks fall from the nest. Cities also produce greater disturbances that may cause herons to abandon nests.<\/p>\n
How to spot the downtown Olympia herons<\/p>\n
The local herons are most visible during nesting season, Anholt said, which began in early April and will likely last another month.<\/p>\n
Unlike other bird species, herons don\u2019t all nest at once, so birdwatchers may glimpse both brand-new chicks and fledglings preparing for flight.<\/p>\n
\u201cA good time is now,\u201d Anholt said. \u201cMost of the chicks out there are older, and so they\u2019re easier to see. That\u2019s what I like to call their \u2018dinosaur stage,\u2019 where they just really look prehistoric and scraggly, and pretty cute.\u201d<\/p>\n
Anholt encouraged birdwatchers to stand ready at dawn and dusk \u2013 the times when mates will leave to forage and return to the heronry.<\/p>\n
Residents may not want to pass underneath the pine trees and get spattered with bird droppings, Anholt noted, but said anyone who encounters a fallen chick on the sidewalk should contact a permitted wildlife rehabilitator through WDWF.<\/a><\/p>\n Although the downtown rookery is relatively well adapted to a human presence, Anholt asked residents to be mindful around the birds.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you\u2019re causing the bird to change behavior, you\u2019re too close,\u201d Anholt said.<\/p>\n
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