The Redmond "Heron Rookery"

 

The Heron rookery, minus birds and trees

My wife and puppy are in the middle-third of this large unforested portion of the Heron Rookery.  There's a lot of dirt behind me that you can't see.  Unfortunately, the trees that once stood there are gone.  No one seems to know why the trees died off. A quandary, since there are no stumps. 

 

A must see short video on the history of the herons and rookery forest is HERE. 

The 4.6 acre open space site is located on the southwest corner of Bear Creek Parkway and Leary Way in Redmond, Washington. It stands at the entrance to Downtown Redmond and features what's left of an urban forest and a trail that runs through the middle.  The city lists it as a park with use for hiking.  

The infamous Workshop Tavern, long torn down abutted the rookery.  It was an historic establishment serving Redmond's first hamburgers and beer.

The Heron Rookery was originally named after a colony of Great Blue Herons that once occupied the site. The first heron nesting occurred around 1997. The Winmar Company donated the site to the City in 2004. When heron monitoring by the city began in 2003, there were still eight active nests. By 2006, no heron nests were recorded. Monitoring continued until 2008 at which time no nests were discovered.

Today the site is still being protected for future generations. In 2012, Redmond received a grant from the Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR), which funded a Washington Conservation Corps (WCC) crew to come out for three weeks to begin removing non-native invasive plants, blackberries, English ivy and English holly. These non-native species grow over the native vegetation, which causes problems for the local wildlife. Wildlife and trees have a more diverse ecosystem to flourish. When all the debris has composted, an evaluation of the remaining trees and vegetation will be completed to determine the health of the forest.

11/15/2023 update:  During a Green Redmond planting in October, 2023 we often encountered round "river rocks" just below the surface.  Staff said the place may have once been a swamp, connected to the river.  Or, a construction site?  The city geologist would know.   by