Holding Out for a Hero(n)
After years of advocating on behalf of great blue herons, local community members have finally secured new and protected habitat for the birds.
A heron stands atop the branches of a tree along the outer reach of the rookery, in the westernmost portion of the newly acquired property. // Sof Dubois
June 8, 2022
Story and photos by Sof Dubois
Along the southeastern boundary of Bellingham Bay, nestled between the Post Point wastewater treatment plant and the Edgemoor neighborhood, rests a crucial ecological site. A figure swoops overhead and pterodactyl-like screeches echo through a once silent area. It’s a great blue heron responding to its newly hatched chicks. In the high branches of the alder trees, these chicks find relative safety in their beach ball-sized nests. No danger can reach them other than the occasional bald eagle.
Bellingham’s only colony of great blue herons was just granted more than half a hectare of protected land to supplement their current habitat. The City of Bellingham purchased the land using city general funds, with an additional $100,000 donation from the Whatcom Land Trust. The nearly two football fields worth of land will preserve a buffer of fir trees that shield the nests from the eyes, lights and sounds of Edgemoor.
The sun lights up Post Point. The Post Point Resource Recovery Plant sits just a short distance from the rookery. // Sof Dubois
The acquisition of land by the city ensures the area will be protected from development as long as it’s considered a conservation zone. Even after this victory, Alex Jeffers, the conservation manager for Whatcom Land Trust, said there’s still work to be done.
“We’re working on potentially having a conservation easement that the [Whatcom] Land Trust would hold, which would essentially place permanent protections on the property,” Jeffers said.
The easement would remain in place unless the herons didn’t roost there for three years.
Alex Jeffers, conservation manager at the Whatcom Land Trust gazes upward with his binoculars into the roosted trees. Jeffers is a part of a team that seeks a conservation easement to protect the area in the future. // Sof Dubois
The rookery, a nesting site for birds, is the only one for great blue herons in Bellingham. Currently, there are an estimated 45 inhabited nests in this rookery, and the population is expected to grow.
Despite being well into nesting season, one of the birds is actively constructing a new nest. // Sof Dubois
The colony moved from Clark’s Point along Chuckanut Drive in 2000 after developers disrupted their habitat to build new houses. Great blue herons are protected by the city under the Critical Areas Ordinance, making their roosting site a Wildlife Habitat Conservation Area. In 2004, a resolution was enacted to set aside a parcel of forest for them. A year later, the city began funding and publishing annual third-party monitoring reports summarizing the status of the colony and its habitat.
A heron soars above the conservation site, returning to its nest. Many herons hunt away from Post Point Lagoon, flying to places such as Lake Padden and Squalicum Park. // Sof Dubois
This project is the result of diligent work from many organizations and community advocates, like Jamie K. Donaldson. Donaldson has been working with this site for 22 years, rallying fellow residents in favor of the herons’ wellbeing.
Her advocacy has spanned four mayors and included multiple clashes with developers interested in the land adjacent to the habitat. Current mayor Seth Fleetwood, community members interested in protecting the herons and even the Public Works Department have been instrumental in securing the habitat, Donaldson said.
Jamie K. Donaldson smiles as a heron returns to its nest with food for its chicks. Donaldson has spent two decades tirelessly fighting for the wellbeing of these birds. // Sof Dubois
“It takes a lot of perseverance and effort to protect the things we love, especially when there’s so much pressure to develop and build and build and build,” Donaldson said. “We’ve got this wonderful thing here that people worked very long and very hard to protect.”
Two chicks await the return of their parents. In the summer, once they are grown, they will fly off — only to return when the snow begins to melt. // Sof Dubois
This story has been edited for clarity.
Sof Dubois is a College of the Environment student who finds intrigue in everything nature offers and photographically captures such marvels.