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Annual Heron Days set for April and May dates; registration begins March 31
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The Redbud Audubon Society will present its annual Heron Days boat tour event the last weekend in April and the first weekend in May with registration through the Society’s Web site to begin on March 31.
Planners of the event were concerned about the level of Clear Lake being high enough, but it was decided the lake level is sufficiently high to move forward with the event.
There may be some areas that will be inaccessible, but the main viewing areas for birds and wildlife should be fine, a spokesperson noted.
The Redbud Audubon Society has held this event for more than 20 years; it includes taking visitors on pontoon boats to different sites on Clear Lake to see nesting great blue herons, egrets, and double-crested cormorants.
Often seen on the boat rides are numerous other wildfowl, most notably the Western and Clarkes Grebes that often put on grand displays of “dancing,” across the water as part of their courtship ritual. Grebes too are often on their nests that are formed on tules along the shoreline in certain areas of the lake.
Boats are careful not to disturb wildlife and visitors are often treated to unexpected sightings such as otters, muskrats, and even bald eagles.
Last year the event was changed somewhat to increase the opportunity for participation for everyone by presenting the boat tours over two weekends. This was a successful approach and will be repeated.
The first weekend of boat tours will be held on April 28 and 29 with tours leaving from Lakeside County Park to view great blue heron rookeries and other areas of interest along the shoreline between the county park and south of Lakeport.
The following weekend, May 5 and 6, tours will leave from the Clear Lake Campground on Cache Creek (formerly Shady Acres Campground) and will visit a nesting site in Anderson Marsh State Park along Cache Creek as well as touring other areas of the marsh.
Boat tours will be leaving from 8 a.m. until 11 p.m. from both sites.
Registration and payment will be available at the Redbud Audubon Society Web site at www.redbudaudubon.org starting on March 31.
Boat tickets for an approximately 90 minute tour are $30 with well-behaved children age 8 and over welcome. No pets are allowed.
The Redbud Audubon Society is a local conservation organization that has been operating in Lake County for 40 years. The society holds monthly programs and field trips from September through May and has been presenting Heron Days for 22 years.
The public is cordially invited to take advantage of the fabulous opportunity to view the amazing wildlife on Clear Lake.