March Point Heronry - Skagit Land Trust

[48.4619,-122.533]

Property Type: Trust-Owned
Date Added: 1994

March Point
10.5 acres
Closed to the Public

Conservation Story

Hosting one of the largest Great Blue Heron colonies in Western North America, this island of forest sits between Padilla and Fidalgo Bays. Vera and Bud Kinney donated this property to Skagit Land Trust in 1994 to protect the nesting herons. With the cooperation of neighboring landowners, each year, Skagit Land Trust conducts a nest count in the heronry. 680 heron nests were counted in 2019 in this relatively small area, which provides easy access to feeding grounds for the herons. Unfortunately, the Trust does not have access to all neighboring property, and therefore some heron nests are uncounted. The overall trend, however, shows increasing number of heron nests in the colony on SLT property and the property to which we have access — and there are likely to be hundreds more nests on the adjacent property to which we do not have access.

Site History and Ecology

Skagit Land Trust, in partnership with volunteer community scientists, has begun to monitor portions of the heronry during nesting season, using monitoring protocol developed by Ann Eissinger, a regional wildlife biologist. Recent video recordings also provide an insight into activity at the heronry during nesting season – watch here.