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<br />.. <br /> <br />~ <br /> <br />,'; <br /> <br />2. <br /> <br />By the end of April, the great egrets had abandoned the colony. The great blue herons remained <br />through the month of May with stick collecting as an indication of nest activity observed through <br />mid-May. On May 1 Th.. the Metropolitan Mosquito Control District helicopter was observed <br />along the west shore of the lake. Its presence caused the great blue herons to leav.e the island. <br /> <br />There were 300-400 great blue herons present on May 25th during the aerial survey. There was <br />considerable boat activity noted during the month of May, with heavy activity over the Memorial <br />Day weekend. Some of this boating activity occurred north of the island ~ause the buoys had <br />not yet been placed. <br /> <br />Unfortunately, by June 3rd, it was apparent that the great blue herons had also abandoned the <br />colony. A visit to the island on June 4th and 5th by field staff from the DNR and Anoka County <br />Parks confirmed that the site had been abandoned and very little evidence of egg laying or <br />hatching of young could be found. Once again, the birds at the Peltier Lake heron rookery failed <br />to successfully nest at the colony site. <br /> <br />As you know, the fate of these birds was of considerable interest to many concerned residents of <br />your community. A number of news media followed the story through the season. A very <br />concise snmmary of the season can be found in the attached article which appeared in the fall <br />issue of Imprint (volume XIX (3)) from the Bell Museum of Natural History at the U. of <br />Minnesota. <br /> <br />As great blue herons and great egrets are both long lived species, we are hopeful that they will <br />once again return to Peltier Island this spring. We are proceeding on that assumption and will <br />again conduct monitoring to record their presence and activity. We will also establish the no- <br />wake boundary as soon as ice out allows, and will be posting the nesting island as a "do not <br />disturb area in the hopes of deterring human activity on the island. <br /> <br />Please feel free to call either of us if you have any qlle$tions. We would be glad to visit with you <br />and the City Council, should you like to discuss this information further. <br /> <br />Thank you for your contiD.uing support to protect an4 manage the special and important natural <br />resources of Peltier Lake. <br /> <br />Sincerely, <br /> <br />~~ ~~~ <br /> <br />Joan Galli <br />Minnesota Dept. of Natural Resources <br />651-297-2277 <br /> <br />~~ <br />Anoka County Parks <br />763-767-2896 <br />