Temporary Rookery Saves Baby Herons

They had lots of perches at different angles and heights to rest on and if you were outside you could hear their calls throughout the day.

During a fierce storm last June, a black-crowned night-heron rookery in Yakima was decimated. With the parents gone and the nests destroyed, there were vulnerable baby herons who needed immediate lifesaving care.

A biologist from the area called PAWS Wildlife Center. Although PAWS had not worked with this species of heron before, wildlife staff readily agreed to help. With PAWS on board, the biologist made the trek to Lynnwood with 22 juvenile herons in tow.

It’s unusual to receive so many wild animals of a species at one time but heron rookeries are unique. Because they house a multitude of families, the young herons who came to PAWS arrived at varying ages, each requiring different levels of care. The smallest among them were newly hatched, weighing just 30 grams and requiring heated indoor housing and feeding assistance. Others were old enough to go into outdoor enclosures.

Approximately two weeks of age, this juvenile heron was rescued from a decimated rookery.

Says PAWS Wildlife Rehabilitator Robbie Thorson, “While it was challenging for staff to care for so many individual animals of a new species, it was fortunate because the herons had others of the same species to grow up with and learn from. We quickly gained experience with multiple life stages for this species.”

Being voracious eaters—the birds ingested up to five pounds of fish per day—meant the herons were continually growing and soon the younger herons were joining the older ones in the outdoor enclosure, set up as an artificial rookery.

“The rookery sounded and smelled like the real thing,” says Jeff Brown, PAWS Naturalist. “They had lots of perches at different angles and heights to rest on and if you were outside you could hear their calls throughout the day.”

Due to differences in age, the 22 herons were released back to the wild in three groups.

When the time came to release these rehabilitated patients, a fully orchestrated plan was hatched. Because of the age differences, the herons were placed into three release groups. Biologists carefully selected locations in wetland areas with flowing willow trees for plenty of perches. When the birds left the transport crates, they flew right into the trees. Several herons took short, swooping flights over the grasslands before finding a perch. Wildlife Rehabilitation Intern Meghan Schuster, who helped care for the blackcrowned night-herons at PAWS, witnessed one group’s return to the wild. She says, “It was such a joy to see them from day one in our care all the way through to their release!”

The herons are now safely ensconced in their new environment, foraging for food, mating, rearing young of their own, and filling our natural world with their intrinsic beauty.

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