The
HeronCam
Ardea
herodias
Welcome
to the HeronCam
A Peek Into Life
In The Treetops
See
the HeronCam streaming live!
WDFW
in partnership with Olympia Systems and Onenetplace, Inc.
nows offers live streaming video of the HeronCam. Currently
there is only the one camera, but we are looking at possibly
incorporating more in the future.
February
28, 2008
The
new HeronCam season approaches! As promised, we have installed
new heron cameras, which should be active soon and last
years cloudy cam has been replaced and will soon be viewable.
Herons are back in the area, and starting to exhibit nesting
behaviors. We welcome and thank our new partners who have
collaborated to expand the heron cameras: Seattle Parks
and Recreation, which administers the Kiwanis Heronry
property and the Heron Habitat Helpers, whose members
work to restore and protect Kiwanis Memorial Preserve
Park and nearby areas http://.heronhelpers.org
We hope to renew our link to the March’s
Point heronry and install a microphone to bring
live sound and heron chatter of a heronry. Many of the
Kenmore/Bothell nest trees are old and decadent trees
and we ill continue to search for sites suitable for cam
locations. Stay tuned as the drama is just beginning!
WDFW
would like to thank all of the partners who have made
this project possible.
- King
County Metropolitan Transit has provided the funds
to install and operate new Heroncams and has designed
and installed interpretive signs at the Kenmore Park
N’ Ride that depict some of the ecology of
great blue herons and the other values of wetlands.
- The
King County Sheriff’s Office has provided electricity
to power the cameras and will have a flat screen
monitor relaying images of the nesting herons in
their public reception area.
- The
Kenmore Police cars sport the Kenmore City logo that
contains great blue herons in flight.
- The
King County Kenmore Library is providing bandwidth
for one or more of the HeronCams. The Library will
also install a flat screen monitor to share heron
images with the public and is working with WDFW,
local citizens and the Seattle Audubon Society to
develop a Great Blue Heron Resource Center. This
will serve as a depository for books, scientific
publications, videos and other public education and
outreach items that focus on the value of great blue
herons and their associated wetlands.
WDFW
would also like to thank all of the many individuals
who have contributed to this project and to the
early HeronCam and website.
“If
we are to preserve and protect biodiversity,
we must know the names of all our neighbors of
other species, and we must learn about their
habits, needs, and idiosyncrasies.…. In
economic realities…., we can no longer
expect large government budgets to bail us out
of our ecological messes. That is where stewardship
comes in. Individuals as well as businesses and
volunteer groups can do an enormous amount with
very little money. But hearts must be in the
right place". Robert Bateman (in Bulter,
1997)
We
invite you to stay tuned and return frequently
to peek into the “life in the treetops” and
get familiar with one of your feathered neighbors,
get your heart in the right place. Please recommend this
site to friends and relatives.
Introducing
the “big cranky”
Other common names used for the great blue
heron include: grandfather, blue crane, gray
crane, long john, poor joe, and big cranky.
A
hunched long-legged silhouette stands motionless
and silent along a stream or shoreline. Easily
identified by its large body, characteristic profile
on the ground or in the air the great blue heron
is a common sight near many wetlands, forests and
estuaries in Washington. In flight the great blue
heron slowly beats its 7-foot wingspan, head folded
back on shoulders, long legs trailing in the behind.
If startled it will emit a low-pitched squawk (heron
squawk). Feeding by day or night but most active
before dawn and dusk, sometimes still hunting and
waiting for prey to come within striking distance
of its long flexible neck and saber-like bill,
or stalking prey in water or a field. The great
blue heron is an opportunistic predator eating
small fish, shellfish, insects, reptiles and amphibians
and even mall mammals and birds.
Attention
Residents of Clallam, Jefferson, Mason, Grays Harbor
and Pacific counties. WDFW is conducting an inventory
of Great Blue Herons in these counties. If you live
in this counties and want to participate, please download
this PDF for more information. Heron
Inventory.pdf
Click
on the links below to view streaming video footage:
New
Clips
Great
Blue Heron Rookery - A Heron's Perspective
Two-Month-Old
Fledging Herons; Preening
Heron
Fledglings and Distant Neighbors; Preparing for Flight
Old
Clips
Adult heron
stand guard as a bald eagle attacks
Early
summer images of young chicks being fed
Four
fledgling herons about ready to leave the nest
Late
spring video of older chicks
Domestic
chores with some remodeling
Older
chicks, 1.5 months with sibling interaction
Romance
in the tree tops as the pair do some bonding
Heron in
nest with hatchlings
Heron in
nest rolling eggs
Heron in nest
with eggs
Appreciation
is extended to Pam Cahn for her dedicated recordings
of the heron's activities, and to Don Norman,
a consultant and biologist and also officials from
King County, Seattle Parks and Recreation, the City
of Kenmore and the Kenmore Police.
The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife would
like to extend a special note of appreciation to Bill
Hubbard, Manager of ThermoSight .com (http://www.thermosight.com/)
a web-camera and night vision contractor and Corny Canfield
and C.Canfield Associates, ( 360 402-3933) a designer
and installer of video systems.
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