2003-04-02 P&R - Laserfiche WebLink

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that they even tried to nest. Egg shells found under nesting trees indicated that at least some herons tried to nest but no evidence was found that any eggs hatched. The scarcity of shells found under trees containing nests and the absence of eggs or young found in nests by climbers suggests that no serious nesting efforts occurred, despite the lengthy presence ofthe birds at nests. The weak effort of the birds to gather nest materials, as compared with previous years, supports this weak effort hypothesis. Some people have blamed the Bald Eagle for the desertions. There is an eagle nest on the island this year which is surrounded by trees with heron nests. During my many visits to the heronry, I saw eagles almost every time but never saw a threatening act toward the herons by the eagles or any concern evidenced by the herons when an eagle flew over or landed in their midst. The tree climber checked the eagles' nest and the ground beneath the tree but found no evidence of the eagles preying on herons or egrets. '" The loss of production of young in this colony during this 3-year period totals several thousand, a serious blow to the colonial nesting population of the metro area and state and a deplorable failure of management. The adults are alive to try again but will they try again at a place they have failed three times? Or, they can move to a new location but where? Ideal sites like Peltier Island are rare to non-existent. .