Every once in a while, and for some unknown reason I might add, my mind likes to go off on a metaphorical hiking expedition of sorts, one where it starts to wander and conjure up ideas and opportunities to help people get more interested in one of my favorite activities, birdwatching.
As an example, this website is actually one of those “wandering ideas” I had nearly 6 years ago to help enlighten and educate the public about birds at the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge through my photography.
Since then, it has morphed into an all-over nature kind of website I suppose, one dealing with a variety of wildlife in a variety of places in addition to the federal bird refuge located in Box Elder County, Utah that back then helped hatch my idea to photograph and write about birds.
Another idea that has been stored away in the back of my “bird brain” for a few years now has been the prospect of some kind of great blue heron festival being held annually at the Eccles Wildlife Education Center at Farmington Bay.
Utah, more precisely, the Farmington Bay Wildlife Management Area, has quite a unique setting with a long-time great blue heron rookery that has stood for decades.
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Most recently, a partnership between the Utah DWR and Rocky Mountain Power, one fueled by an Eagle Scout project, not only replaced all of the aging heron nesting platforms but added more poles to the great blue heron rookery, literally doubling the actual nesting capacity of the structure.
If you have never had the pleasure of birdwatching at the great blue heron rookery or just visiting the Eccles Wildlife Education Center itself, you are certainly missing out.
This is especially the case during the spring and early summer when the man-made nesting structure is nearly filled to capacity with great blue herons attending to raise another generation of these most unique and beautiful birds.
Great blue herons are colony-nesting birds so when natural locations don’t exist or are in short supply, even a man-made structure like the heron rookery does, in fact, attract and support numerous nesting great blue herons that successfully raise heron chicks each year.
The reason my mind has oftentimes wandered to the prospect of some kind of great blue heron festival at Farmington Bay is, well, besides the fact great blue herons are one of my all-time favorite birds, both the central location of the preserve and the unique nesting structure that is so close to the visitors center makes birdwatching for nesting great blue herons very easy and quite enjoyable.
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The great blue heron rookery is actually located just a few hundred yards from the Eccles Wildlife Education Center visitors center, making birdwatching and photography easily available from both the adjoining parking lot and the nearby nature trail where the following video was recorded.
(Visiting The Great Blue Heron Rookery At Farmington Bay. For short nature clips like this one and interesting stories about the natural world around us, check out our Bear River Blogger channel on YouTube for videos and updates from our travels while out in nature, both on and off of the famed Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge.)
I don’t know, maybe it’s just me but I think with the close proximity of the great blue heron rookery to the visitors center and the central location of Farmington Bay here along the Wasatch Front, there is a golden opportunity to both enlighten and educate the public about both great blue herons, in particular, and birdwatching, in general, with some kind of formal event or gathering.
Now keep in mind, however, this is just a casual idea I’ve personally had for a while now but one I have mentioned a time or two in passing over the past couple of years when I visit my friends at the Eccles Wildlife Education Center.
But I do believe establishing some kind of annual great blue heron festival at the Eccles Wildlife Education Center does carry some kind of potential to help bring more birdwatchers and support to the table with regards to getting the word out about why we need to protect places like Farmington Bay.
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I’d be interested in hearing your thoughts on the matter to see if there is support for such an idea, so if you are on Facebook, we now have a Bear River Blogger page so head on over and let me hear what you think about this or anything else I’ve written about for that matter.
And if you are new to our website, I offer you to head on over to our subscribe page and sign up for email notifications for future blog posts where we share our birdwatching and photography excursions, both on and off of the famed Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge.
