Show The Herald Journal Logan Utah Friday September 13 2002 — C3 Heroini© foenoig e&mvdledl emit egrets Pa (AP) — two “Historically it did nest more herons sit on a night places” said Cindy Dunn executive tree that has crashed from Wade director of the Pennsylvania Island into the Susquehanna River Audubon Society “Their numbers It’s a windy day and the tree proare still rebounding from the turn of vides a sheltered perch for die birds the century when their numbers ' which typically hunt at nighL were decimated by the plume trade But the tree’s fall is the latest sign ' the hat trade” that the herons and their neighbors With its towering silver maple and river birch Wade bland provides great egrets may be in danger Visible from the Interstate 81 ideal nesting for great egrets a state bridge Wade Island sits just a few endangered species and feet from the Harrisburg city limits night herons considered at Yet despite the birds’ proximity to risk in the state The clear shallow the city it’s not humans who threaten water of the Susquehanna River their continued existence in Pennsylaffords ample food for both species vania It’s the river itself and the of wading birds other buds the river has attracted Wade bland has shrunk to just 2S HARRISBURG black-crown- ed Erosion has taken about acres from about one-thir- d trees that house the birds to crash into the river All the while double-crestcormorants — a thriving species that is expanding its habitat — are starting to crowd the egrets and herons from their traditional nesting sites The result may be the end of Pennsylvania’s only nesting site for great egrets and one of just a handful of sites for night herons Egrets woe once common along eastern rivers but their graceful ed : black-crown-ed snowy-whit- e feathers woe sought by hunters who sold than for decorations 38 acres in 198S As the river washes away die edges of the island trees lose their footholds and crash into the river decreasing the available nesting space Except for the egret and heron nests Wade isn’t that much different from nearby Sheets bland or from the smaller islands that make up the Sheets bland Archipelago which also provides habitat for night herons blue herons and other species So why haven’t the egrets and expanded to other nearby islands? “That’s what we’ve been trying to yellow-crown- East But the cormorants are thriving and their expanding populations need new places to feed And they're adapting learning to eat from the shallow waters of the Susquehanna instead of the deeper waters that they're used to Ironically it may have been the success of the egret and heron colony on Wade that attracted the cormorants “Colonial nesters intuitively attract other colonial nesters because they recognize there’s safety in numbers" said biologist Dan Brauning of the Game Commission “But in 9 this case that’s unfortunate because Wade has limited — in fact eroding ' black-crown- ed of the small island’s area causing the non AP photo takes flight over the Susquehanna River in Harrisburg Pa Wade bland b an ideal nesting habitat for great egrets a state endangered Species and A great egret black-crown- night herons considered figure out” said Cal Butchkoski a game technician with the Pennsylvania Game Commission “Some of the other islands have similar trees But some of it b history The young come back — and so do the adults — to the same spot and they get attached to it” And another species b becoming attached to Wade bland Doubler crested cormorants more common ed black-crow- — accommodations" That's bad news for the wading birds Although the species don't ' really compete for food the cormorants do compete for nesting by the stab space with the egrets and herons It’s a competition the wading birds aren’t likely to win along the Eastern Seaboard have the “Cormorants can form some fairly Susquehanup expanding begun na River drawn by its plentiful food large colonies and if that occurs here ' there's a good possibility supply they could take over the nesting habitat on the “Pennsylvania was not thought to be double-creste- d cormorant habitat island” Butchkoski said and you wouldn't expect to really see "They’re more aggressive than them They' dive 20 to 40 feet deep to these wading birds and once they set eat fish so you’d never think they’d their nest that’s their area The egrets take off in the Susquehanna” Dunn and the herons aren’t going to push said them off” at-ri- sk Ohio man recovers from bear mauling IDAHO FALLS Idaho (AP) — A Forest Service biologbt says confrontations between bears and people such as last weekend’s mauling of an Ohio man are more likely to happen this fall than in some past years A poor crop of white bark pine seeds a favorite for of bears found at higher altitudes b forcing bears into lower elevations to find food “They’re all over the place” biologbt Marion Cher- : ry said adding the situation will probably continue until the bears go into hibernation in early November The coming big game sea- - ' son will certainly increase contacts as hunters head into the high country An Ohio activist is recovering at an area hospital after hb face was gouged by the teeth of an enraged mother grizzly bear Jesshua Amun 38 was one of a group of four people tracking buffalo as part of the West ' ' Yellowstone-base- d Buf- falo Field Campaign a group that protests the killing of bison from nearby Yellow-ston- e National Park The hunts are designed to prevent the spread of disease to Montana cattle Amun was tracking a male buffalo though thick back- - ' country about eight miles from West Yellowstone early Sunday afternoon when he caught a glimpse of die bear and her two cubs about 40 yards away At first he thought it might be the buffalo he was searching for or an elk “It wasn't It was a bear and it was quite big” he said from the Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center where he b listed in fab condition with a broken nose hundreds of stitches criss- crossing hb face and a swollen knee At first Amun barely moved as the bear charged through the trees Then he began running “Just like that she tackled me roared really loud bit my face and bit my knee Then I kicked her really hard (in die beck) and she went away’’1 fter the sow and her bubs retreated Amun said he got up and rhade hb way back to the group Realizing the entire right side of hb face and mouth had been diced open he began to yell for help “I had to hold my shirt to my face to keep it together” he said Others in his party 'radioed for help and Amun was airlift-- r ed to the hospital ‘ VI1 Interim markdown may have been taken Not all styles sin or colon rvailabie at all locations Some quantities limited Ad0201G9 Expo 1 0V13D2Exp:09fl902 ? 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