Heron Rookery
Heron Rookery | |
---|---|
Location | Porter County, Indiana, US |
Nearest city | Michigan City, Indiana |
Coordinates | 41°37′37″N 86°57′07″W / 41.62694°N 86.95194°W |
Area | 320 acres (130 ha) |
Established | 1966 expanded 1980 |
Governing body | National Park Service |
The Heron Rookery in
Location
Pine Township in
The rookery is also accessible from
Trail
The most enjoyable season to visit the rookery is when the great blue herons are nesting. From the east parking area, you can follow the trail northwards to the East Arm Little Calumet River. Across the river on the north bank is the rookery. Annually, these great birds return to nest. The great blue heron is the largest of the North American heron families. They stand 4 feet (1.2 m) tall and have a wingspan of 7 feet (2.1 m). It is best to visit with a ranger on a guide walk as the birds can be hard to find, high in their nests.[3] If you continue west along the trail, you’ll follow the Little Calumet River for over a mile through a hardwood forest.
The herons roost in the eastern end with its tall
Terrain
The soils through this part of Porter County are Whitaker-Milford-Del Rey soils, consistent with the hypothesis that this area was an embayment of Glenwood phase of Glacial Lake Chicago (Ancestral Lake Michigan). (Chrzastowski and Thompson, 1992)[5] The soils are nearly level and somewhat poorly drained.
Along the Little Calumet, the soils are
Most of the adjacent areas are made up of Bourbon, sandy loam. Large tracts parallel the river on both sides. They are nearly level, deep, but poorly drained soil. They have an increased ability to move water downward or laterally with a high organic matter content. They are subject to seasonally high water. Thus, it is better not to visit the rookery after a heavy rain fall or during winter and spring rainy seasons. This area has remained a tree lot as it was not adequately drained for other uses.[6] Sebewa soils act as drains across the surround Bourbon soils to the river. Nearly level but slightly depressed below the surrounding soils. They are very poorly drained and are often have standing water. Larger tracts of this type of soil can be used for row crops, but not the limited sizes found in the rookery.[6]
References
- ^ A Signature of Time and Eternity: The Administrative History of Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, Indiana; Ron Cockrell, National Park Service, 1988
- ^ a b Northern Indiana; Universal Map; Williamston, Michigan
- ^ Hiking Indiana, Phil Bloom, A Falcon Guide
- ^ Lisa Phillips (2001). "Into the Wild: Heron Rookery". Chicago Wilderness Magazine. Archived from the original on 2014-05-26. Retrieved 2014-05-25.
- ^ Calumet Beginnings. Kenneth J. Schoon; Indiana University Press, Bloomington, 2003
- ^ a b c Soil Survey of Porter County, Indiana; USDA, Soil Conservation Service, Purdue University Agricultural Experiment Station, Indiana Department of natural Resources, Soil and Water Conservation Committee; February 1981; Map #5