[MASSBIRD] 4/24/21 Concord Heron Rookery(ies?)

[Matt S.]

Hi All,

Several years ago we visited a great blue rookery in Concord....I thought it abutted sleepy hollow cemetery, but looking at ebird, there's a 'concord heron rookery' hotspot that's nowhere near the cemetery....are there two rookeries in concord?  Also, if there ebird hotspot is the only one, where do you park for it?

Thanks,

Matt S.

Newton, MA

Accip...@gmail.com

[Asli Memisoglu]

I haven't been in many years but there used to be a rookery south of White Pond. Parking is available in a small lot on Varick street.  Get there early since it is popular among the fishermen. Walk toward the pump house and follow the trail toward the marsh. White Pond trail map available here:

https://concordma.gov/734/Trail-Maps-Guides

I hope it is still there.

Happy Birding,

Asli Memisoglu

Concord, MA

[Andrew Joslin]

Heron rookery locations are dynamic, depending on conditions they can last for 20 years or just a few years. The Sleepy Hollow rookery is pretty much over. With all the beaver activity in Eastern Massachusetts there are plenty of options, new locations are occupied by herons every year.

An Osprey pair has been nesting in an abandoned GBH rookery in Concord, MA going on three years now.

Probably redundant to say this but observers should keep good distance from rookeries, disruption can cause abandonment. Probably not a good idea for anyone to create an accurate "Rookery Hotspot" on eBird. Maybe that's why the "hotspot" location in Concord was not directly on the rookery location.

Andrew Joslin
Carlisle, MA