Developer planned to remove trees with heron nests before approval
The developer of the site of a heron rookery says she wanted trees with heron nests to come down before the birds nested. 7:10 pm, Apr. 30, 2021 ×
Great blue herons sit among their nests in Rochester Township Thursday, March 25. (Photo contributed by the Zumbro Valley Audubon Society)
Aderonke Mordi says she knew there were great blue heron nests in the trees on the land she had agreed to buy in order to build a development in Rochester Township.
Mordi, president of International Properties, LLC, testified in Olmsted County District Court on Friday, the second day of court proceedings on whether a temporary restraining order barring work on that land should remain in place.
Joan Dittmann~For Sun-Times Media
During the COVID-19 pandemic, birds enriched the lives of many Illinoisans who saw them out their windows or when going for a walk
Now Illinois should do something to help the birds.
Editorials
Last month, Virginia became the first state to restore protections for migratory birds from unintended but predictable killings resulting from human activities. Such so-called “incidental take” will be banned under a regulation approved by the state’s Department of Wildlife Resources.
Illinois should adopt a similar rule.
Migratory birds long were protected from incidental take by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918, which encouraged such commonsense measures as using red lights on communication towers, screening off toxic waste pits, marking power lines to reduce collisions and ensuring wind turbines are not placed directly in the paths of migrating birds. Bird deaths caused in ways for which there is not always a straightforward solution, such
Hearing begins on fate of herons nesting site
Attorneys representing the developer and land owner where a heron rookery is located want a restraining order lifted. 6:48 pm, Apr. 28, 2021 ×
Great blue herons sit among their nests in Rochester Township Thursday, March 25. (Photo contributed by the Zumbro Valley Audubon Society)
Attorneys representing the landowner and developer of a site of a heron nesting colony on the planned subdivision say the nests no longer need court protection.
The rookery containing up to 50 great blue heron nests in Rochester Township was the reason Olmsted County District Court Judge Pamela King issued a temporary restraining order March 20 pausing development.
4/28/2021
Nesting killdeer stop construction in McCabe courtyard
A pair of Killdeer found the partially constructed courtyard at McCabe Elementary School to be the perfect spot for its nest of four eggs. (Breeze photo by Jacquelyn Moorehead)
SMITHFIELD – Construction at McCabe Elementary School is in full swing, but one section of its courtyard remains untouched thanks to a pair of nesting killdeer, a protected migratory shore bird.
Chris Spiegel, a project manager with Colliers International, quickly became an expert on the bird when construction began at McCabe last year. He said he first noticed the long-legged birds in McCabe’s fields last May and June, though their presence at that time did not interrupt work.