Herons home to roost

Lauren Vane

The sidewalk in front of the Balboa Island home of 95-year-old

Josephine Pauly Williams is often speckled with hundreds of white

bird droppings, but she doesn’t mind one bit.

A glance upwards at the sight of a majestic great blue heron

swooping down from the tall pine tree in Williams’ front yard, and

the scattering of bird droppings are forgiven.

The tree is home to an estimated eight great blue herons that have

become an island fixture after many years of returning here to nest.

“They’re interesting,” said Williams, who has lived in her home on

the corner of Collins Avenue and North Bayfront since 1945.

The birds have been a welcome addition to the home within the last

decade, said Williams’ caretaker Minda Somera. Williams dictates that

the pine tree not be trimmed, to avoid disrupting the birds’ home,

Somera said.

With the birds’ constant presence in her tree, Williams’ home,

built in 1908, is always attracting onlookers. “It’s a tourist

attraction,” Somera said.

Balboa Island resident Anne Greer lives a few streets down from

Williams’ home and said the birds are a regular sight on her morning

walk.

“They’re fun to watch because when you walk the island you always

want to stop and see what’s going on,” Greer said.

As of late, the squawking of baby birds has been a familiar sound

in the neighborhood, Greer said.

Great blue herons are native to Southern California and begin the

nesting process in January, said Kent Smirl, a patrol lieutenant with

the state Department of Fish and Game. The birds lay eggs between

March and May and the young hatch about 30 days later, Smirl said.

The birds in Williams’ tree come and go as they please and appear

to live in harmony with the humans around them.

“In spite of all the modernization, still we have these birds!”

Somera said.

Should humans interfere with the birds’ existence, the herons are

protected under federal and state law, Smirl said. According to the

Migratory Bird Treaty Act, the herons are protected when in a

courting, breeding or nesting phase, Smirl said.

“From the standpoint of the public, it’s a balance,” Smirl said.

The fish and game department is required to keep people from

disturbing the birds, even if the birds are creating a nuisance on

private property, Smirl said.

The herons may squawk continually and create quite a mess on

Williams’ property and sidewalk, but they are hardly annoying, Somera

said.

“I don’t think they’re very loud,” Williams said.

Anyways, Williams has help on hand to keep the bird droppings at a

minimum.

“We have a gardener; we keep it clean,” Somera said.