At the Wildlife Rehabilitation Center of Minnesota, avian nursery coordinator Jessika Madison helped feed the nine blue heron chicks that were orphaned by the Tornado that hit Minneapolis on Sunday. The chicks have to be fed live minnows every 30/45 minutes...
As many as 180 great blue herons were killed, injured or are missing after Sunday's tornado that struck north Minneapolis. The birds were nesting on an island in the Mississippi River near North Mississippi Regional Park. The island had been home to three dozen heron nests, each of which would likely have held three eggs or hatchlings and would have been tended by a pair of adult herons.Further details (and more photos) at the StarTribune.
All of those nests were destroyed by the storm and only a few of the estimated 50 trees remain standing on the island. Adult herons were seen flying circles around the mangled island or sitting on broken trees.
Addendum: Additional photos and commentary at Birdchick.com. (Hat tip to Heather).
Photo: Richard Tsong-Taatarii [I'm impressed at the large head/beak on the small chick]
Birdchick lives in Minneapolis and was one of those rescuing birds. Her blog has a lot of pics of the destroyed rookery.
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Thank you for the heads-up, Heather. I've added the link to the post.
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