New partnership saves young herons in Oakland
By Ilana DeBare
The ficus trees of downtown Oakland are an enticing but brutal spot for a heron rookery — lush canopies and nearby food at Lake Merritt and the Oakland estuary, but deadly concrete sidewalks and traffic for young birds that fall from the trees.
Now Golden Gate Bird Alliance has forged a partnership with the Oakland Zoo and International Bird Rescue to save the lives of fallen and injured young herons.
This spring, GGBA trained 25 volunteer docents to monitor the downtown Oakland nesting colony, which includes over 75 Black-crowned Night-Heron Nests plus dozens of Snowy Egret nests.
The docents count and track the nests, engage with passersby who want to learn about the birds, and keep an eye out for fallen herons that need help. When they find an injured bird, they contact the Zoo, which sends technicians to pick up the bird and provide emergency care. Once the bird is stabilized, it’s transported to International Bird Rescue in Fairfield, which provides veterinary treatment and nurture until the young bird is ready to be released into a suitable wild habitat.
So far more than ten injured night-herons have been retrieved from the Oakland streets.
“We are so heartened by the crucial assistance we’ve received from the Oakland Zoo and IBR in helping to save the lives of these young herons growing up in the heart of downtown Oakland,” said GGBA Executive Director Cindy Margulis, who together with GGBA Eco-Education Coordinator Marissa Ortega-Welch set up the new heron program.
Night-herons and Snowy Egrets are colonial nesters, which means there can be dozens of nests of both species coexisting in a single tree. The juvenile herons often clamber around on branches inside the canopy before they learn to fly, putting them at risk of falling.
In a less urban habitat, the young herons’ falls are often cushioned by understory or bushes. In downtown Oakland, they hit a concrete sidewalk and then may face oncoming cars.
GGBA’s efforts grew out of a nationally-publicized incident two years ago when tree trimmers hired by the downtown Oakland post office destroyed branches with active nests, leaving a number of young herons injured and homeless.
Since then, GGBA has been working to find a long-term solution to protect the rookery and its residents. GGBA has also taken steps to raise public awareness of the colony and the need to protect the young herons:
- We’re placing Chinese and English educational posters about the herons in downtown storefronts and other locations.
- We’re offering free guided bird walks through the heron colony, including ones during lunch hour on Wednesday May 4 and in the evening on Wednesday May 18. See below for details.
- On April 6, we held our second annual Eco-Art Flash Mob, which mobilized dozens of local artists to create sidewalk chalk images of the nesting herons and egrets. (Click here to view photos from the 2016 heron art event, or here for a short video of our 2015 heron art mob.)
The partnership with the Oakland Zoo and IBR has been particularly gratifying — three esteemed Bay Area wildlife organizations working together, each playing to its unique strengths. GGBA provides the volunteer citizen-scientists who can tell when a bird is in trouble and sound the alarm; Oakland Zoo provides the trained technicians and veterinarians to serve as first responders; and IBR is a world-renowned leader in rehabilitating water birds like herons.
The rescue partnership has already received extensive coverage in local media, with ABC, NBC, the East Bay Times, and KCBS Radio all covering the project this week. Here’s a video clip of the ABC7 story! (Yes, you have to sit through a short commercial first but it’s worth it.)
Thank you to our volunteer heron docents and our partners at Oakland Zoo and IBR!
Want to help maintain and expand our Oakland heron protection campaign? Click here to make a tax-deductible contribution to Golden Gate Bird Alliance!
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Please join Golden Gate Bird Alliance for a free guided walk through the Oakland heron colony:
Wednesday May 4th
12 noon. to 1 p.m.
Meet at the corner of 14th and Jackson
Wednesday May 18th
6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Meet in front of the Oakland Main Library on 14th Street
Both walks are free and are co-sponsored by the Rotary Nature Center. Wear comfortable walking shoes and a hat to protect you from unwanted gifts from the overhead birds. Bring binoculars if you have them, although some binoculars will be available to borrow. Questions? Contact Marissa at mortegawelch@goldengatebirdalliance.org. Click here for a flyer about the walks that you can download and share with friends.
