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Google's Heron & Egret Rookery, Mountain View, 6/26/21 by Ronald Horii
I saw this online presentation by Carolyn Knight, Education and Outreach Manager, Santa Clara Valley Audubon Society: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mgoCE954YCI
It was about a local heron and egret rookery. Was it on the Bay, in the hills, on a little island, or hidden in some remote wild area? No, it was on a street next to a Google office facility. Birds are nesting in street trees, planted for landscaping. Fortunately, the street is closed during nesting season to protect the birds. I wanted to see it for myself. I've actually been there before, but not during nesting season. I was riding my bike around the neighborhood, checking out what was around the nearby Stevens Creek Trail. I saw this street and signs that it would be closed during nesting season. Unfortunately, there's no nearby public parking, unless you pretend to be a Google employee. I parked in a shopping center a few blocks away and rode my bike to the site. You can tell when you get there. You can hear the birds calling. They make a croaking sound. Here's more information about the rookery:
https://scvas.org/egrets
Normally, the SCVAS has on-site programs, called "Egret Office Hours," with volunteer birders and spotting scopes. They aren't able to do that in-person this year, but the video is a very good introduction. Check it out, then make a trip to the rookery to see the birds in real life. It's easy to remember the street name. It's at the end of Shorebird Way, south of Charleston Road. In the video, they talk about how to get there. It's best to use binoculars or a spotting scope to see the birds in their nests. I was using my travelzoom camera, which has a 30X zoom lens, with a 2X digital boost. Many of these pictures are also cropped.
More links, thanks to Google:
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Here's a blog about the rookery from Google: https://blog.google/inside-google/life-at-google/every-summer-googles-campus-birds/
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This was a story about the rookery in the Mercury News: https://www.mercurynews.com/2015/04/10/mountain-view-egrets-return-to-googleplex/
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Daily Kos article about it: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2019/4/14/1848874/-Dawn-Chorus-Where-s-the-Egrets-Let-s-Google-It
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ABC7 news story about it: https://abc7news.com/google-mountain-view-egret-chicks-chick-nesting-season-in/3747127/
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This is a blog about an in-person visit to the "Egret Office Hours" event:
https://www.ilovemv.org/new-blog-1/tag/egrets+nesting
----------------------------------
This has some pictures of the rookery: https://elgatonews.com/2020/07/07/egrets-abound-at-mountain-view-rookery/
----------------------------------
Here's a tour of some of the surrounding areas, which have been restored to their natural state: https://www.ilovemv.org/new-blog-1/category/shorebird-walking-tour2
I saw this online presentation by Carolyn Knight, Education and Outreach Manager, Santa Clara Valley Audubon Society: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mgoCE954YCI
It was about a local heron and egret rookery. Was it on the Bay, in the hills, on a little island, or hidden in some remote wild area? No, it was on a street next to a Google office facility. Birds are nesting in street trees, planted for landscaping. Fortunately, the street is closed during nesting season to protect the birds. I wanted to see it for myself. I've actually been there before, but not during nesting season. I was riding my bike around the neighborhood, checking out what was around the nearby Stevens Creek Trail. I saw this street and signs that it would be closed during nesting season. Unfortunately, there's no nearby public parking, unless you pretend to be a Google employee. I parked in a shopping center a few blocks away and rode my bike to the site. You can tell when you get there. You can hear the birds calling. They make a croaking sound. Here's more information about the rookery:
https://scvas.org/egrets
Normally, the SCVAS has on-site programs, called "Egret Office Hours," with volunteer birders and spotting scopes. They aren't able to do that in-person this year, but the video is a very good introduction. Check it out, then make a trip to the rookery to see the birds in real life. It's easy to remember the street name. It's at the end of Shorebird Way, south of Charleston Road. In the video, they talk about how to get there. It's best to use binoculars or a spotting scope to see the birds in their nests. I was using my travelzoom camera, which has a 30X zoom lens, with a 2X digital boost. Many of these pictures are also cropped.
More links, thanks to Google:
----------------------------------
Here's a blog about the rookery from Google: https://blog.google/inside-google/life-at-google/every-summer-googles-campus-birds/
----------------------------------
This was a story about the rookery in the Mercury News: https://www.mercurynews.com/2015/04/10/mountain-view-egrets-return-to-googleplex/
----------------------------------
Daily Kos article about it: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2019/4/14/1848874/-Dawn-Chorus-Where-s-the-Egrets-Let-s-Google-It
----------------------------------
ABC7 news story about it: https://abc7news.com/google-mountain-view-egret-chicks-chick-nesting-season-in/3747127/
----------------------------------
This is a blog about an in-person visit to the "Egret Office Hours" event:
https://www.ilovemv.org/new-blog-1/tag/egrets+nesting
----------------------------------
This has some pictures of the rookery: https://elgatonews.com/2020/07/07/egrets-abound-at-mountain-view-rookery/
----------------------------------
Here's a tour of some of the surrounding areas, which have been restored to their natural state: https://www.ilovemv.org/new-blog-1/category/shorebird-walking-tour2
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