Blue Herons Making A Big Comeback On Lake Peltier
LINO LAKES, Minn. (WCCO) -- At one time, Anoka County's Lake Peltier was home to the second largest blue heron nesting spot in the Twin Cities.
But when the eggs and hatchlings began mysteriously disappearing a decade ago, the search was to explain the troubling decline.
In northeast Anoka County, blue herons are big -- popular in both the skies and on the logos of towns and schools.
"We have blue heron days, a blue heron parade and blue heron elementary. Everything's blue heron around here," Lino Lakes' environmental coordinator Marty Asleson said.
But in 2005, it looked like the beautiful birds were gone for good. What had been 1100 active nests on the island had fallen to only one. The birds were abandoning their prime nesting spot on Lake Peltier.
"One nesting bird -- we didn't know if they were going to come back after that year," Asleson said.
Researchers then deployed a series of treetop cameras and soon discovered the problem. Raccoons were invading the nests and eating the eggs and young hatchlings.
"They were eating the chicks," Asleson said. "They would wait for just the right size and they would go up there and eat the chicks."
Every spring since then, volunteers are busy wrapping the trees with metal shrouds -- beating raccoons at their devious game. The animals are prevented from sinking their paws into the bark and climbing up the trees into the nests.
Now, all the work is proving to be a huge success. The volunteers counted 50 nests in 2010 and around 120 the following year. And this past spring, things got even better.
"We have 245 nests out there on the island," Asleson said.
Filling blue skies with majestic Herons, and restoring a proud and wild symbol over Lake Peltier.