Portland's city bird,
the Great Blue Heron, is one of the
Northwest’s most iconic species. Herons nest in large colonies (known as rookeries) at places such as Ross Island,
Vancouver Lake, Smith and Bybee Lakes, and Heron Lakes Golf Course. However, these
rookeries are highly vulnerable to habitat alterations, human
disturbance, and natural changes to the environment. The presence of herons on our urban
landscape helps to indicate whether we are
doing enough to protect local wildlife habitat.
You can help with two parts of this
project:
Portland Audubon continues to
assemble information about location of heron rookeries in the
Portland-Vancouver metro area. We are reliant on citizens to provide information on rookery
locations in Clackamas, Multnomah,
Washington, Columbia, or Clark County.
We need the following information:
• Location of rookery
• Number of
nests
• Years in existence (if
known)
We are also looking
for Rookery Site Stewards to track changes at specific heron rookeries over the
course of the year. We will pair monitors with rookeries near where they work or
live.
If you know of a rookery in the Portland-Vancouver metro
region or would like to be a Heron Rookery Site Steward, please contact
Mary Coolidge, Audubon Conservation
Assistant Director, at mcoolidge@audubonportland.org.
