The Canadian Press
VERNON, B.C.–More than two dozen great blue heron chicks and one adult bird are dead after their nesting site in Vernon, B.C. was heavily-damaged in a windstorm.
Vernon-based wildlife expert Pete Wise said he walked through the heron nesting colony in a protected grove of cottonwood trees yesterday and discovered several trees had been toppled by the storm earlier in the week.
He noted some nests were in the fallen trees while others had been knocked loose or the chicks had been blown out.
Wise said the birds, that included a total of 29 babies, either were killed in the fall or died from hypothermia in the hours afterward.
He estimates about one-third of the colony was lost.
B.C. has placed the great blue heron on a vulnerable species list due to its declining population.
One reason for the listing is the fact the birds can’t find large, isolated groves of trees suitable for nesting colonies.
