Great blue herons have returned to Beacon Hill Park and are ready to nest.
This year the B.C Ministry of Environment and City of Victoria parks staffers have created new signage asking visitors to tread quietly near the heronry around Goodacre Lake.
“The signs have been put in place because the (herons) are quite sensitive,” said Michele Gorman, the city’s integrated pest management co-ordinator. “The birds can’t handle loud noises like car doors slamming or gunshot-like noises. We are asking people to be sensitive to them.”
Gorman’s title might make one wonder whether she considers the large birds pests. But her excited descriptions of their nesting grounds in the park quickly erase those thoughts.
Parks workers accommodate the herons by doing a portion of the work for them. They leave piles of twigs and trimmings for the birds to use in the construction of their nests.
The heronry in Beacon Hill Park was the largest on the Island until storms felled numerous trees in 2006, leaving the birds fewer places to nest. To make matters worse, a mated pair of bald eagles that kept younger eagles from raiding the heron nests were unable to do so after the male died in 2008.
Things have been looking up, though. Since then the female eagle has mated again and new trees have been planted for the herons to use for screening and building their nests.
“The heronry has spread all the way back to Douglas Street now,” Gorman said, estimating the total number of birds at 40 or more. “(That) is great news, especially with tourist season fast approaching. I’ve seen tour groups, not necessarily (visiting) for the birds, go into the park and when they see an eagle or heron fly overhead, the impact is quite amazing.”
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