Looking Back: Trouble in Paradise
Chicks in mid-June 2020 - Contributor
Part One – All About “Ardea Herodias”
On rare occasions some of us have been able to witness the slow, deep winged flight of the majestic Great Blue Heron, with is neck folded into an “S” shape and long legs extended straight out behind it. Or we have come across one standing stock still in the middle of a swamp or the edge of a lake, patiently waiting for the right moment to snag prey in their finely serrated beaks. These stealthy stately fisherman can sometimes be seen at Frank Lake, which is naught but a swamp these days, or Lee Lake or on the Crowsnest River. Nowadays sighting blue herons in the valley bottom throughout the Pass is getting rarer.
A couple of weeks ago I was invited by one of the area residents of the Adanac acreages to observe the apparently little known heron colony on Byron Creek. There was a specific reason behind the invite but in the process of being allowed to observe this gem of a heronry from their perfect vantage point, I soon became, as I am want to do, completely enthralled by this special place and its unique occupants.
How is it, I wondered, that they are where they are? Well quite simply it turns out that this heronry’s location is definitely strategic in several ways. Great Blue Herons are known to choose sites that afford protection from predators and in fairly close proximity to food sources. They are also known to prefer tall fir trees in a quiet setting. The Byron colony is in exactly that kind of location, nestled in tall firs deep in the Byron Creek gorge, a gorge whose steep sides average around 60 degrees. This affords pretty good protection from mammalian predation. The colony is located on a bend in the creek and looks for all intents and purposes like the perfect secluded spot.
I cannot tell you what a thrill it was to glass this collection of stacked nests, a stick apartment if you will, with at least 15 active nests in several trees. There are purportedly several more nest trees around the bend out of sight.
Within just about every nest one could observe several perched young nestlings, standing patiently waiting for their next meal or practicing early flapping manoeuvres in some pretty tight situations. I was also able to watch the adults fly by me, at eye level, as they headed north down the creek and out to their hunting haunts to search for food. The area around the colony trees is usually…