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CITY OF ADDISON: It’s the Time of Year to Prepare for Egret and Heron Control and Addison Needs Your Help

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City of Addison issued the following announcement on Jan. 26

The Parks and Recreation Department is asking residents to help deter egrets and herons from forming nesting colonies (rookeries) in Addison. Urban rookeries can cause noise, odor, public health hazards, and damage to property. The Town is already aware of Herons’ nests in one neighborhood and is working with U.S. Department of Fish and Wildlife to proactively address and prevent further nesting. Residents can help by following these three simple steps:

  1. Egrets and Herons like dense tree canopies and nest in trees that are 20’ tall or greater. They like areas with contiguous canopy where large trees have grown together. You can be a big part of the solution by heavily thinning out the interior branches of your trees so they have 75% density or less. If possible, prune trees so they do not touch other trees. January and February is an ideal time to prune trees.
  2. Familiarize yourself with what Egret and Herons native to our area look like.
  3. If an Egret or Heron is beginning to build a nest in some cases the Parks and Recreation Department can deter the birds or remove the nest if eggs have not been laid. Please notify us if you think you have seen an Egret or Heron beginning to build a nest by emailing Matt Ansted at [email protected]. It’s helpful if you include in your email the location, a description of the bird, and a photo if possible. You can also report sightings on Addison’s FixIT app.

In some cases, we may be able to use hazing tactics to encourage them to leave. Herons and egrets are protected under the Migratory Bird Act, so please do not harm them, their nests, eggs, or hatchlings.

Original source can be found here.

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