Tag: great blue heron

Photos: Miller-Showers Park dredging work

Great blue heron at Miller-Showers Park, framed by Merrell Bros. dredging equipment.(July 1, 2024)
Fawn oversees dredging work at Miller-Showers Park. (July 2, 2024)
Great blue heron at Miller-Showers Park. (July 1, 2024)
Merrell Bros. dredging equipment at Miller-Showers Park. (July 2, 2024)

In November of 2021, The B Square reported on a bathymetric study of the Miller-Showers detention basins that was supposed to determine if and where the basins in the park need to have excess sediment dredged. The study indicated the detention ponds needed to be  dredged .

The ponds fill up with silt by design, because they are part of the city’s stormwater system, and the idea is that the sediment can filter out of the water in the ponds, making for cleaner water in the creek downstream.

The dredging contact was awarded to Merrell Bros. earlier this year. That work has now started. At its June 18 meeting, the board of public works approved the use of right-of-way for using cranes to put the equipment into place.  The letter from Merrell Bros. in the meeting information packet indicates the work will take around four weeks, which would put the completion date towards the end of July.

These photos were taken on Monday and Tuesday (July 1–2, 2024).  The complete photoset is included after the jump.

Continue reading “Photos: Miller-Showers Park dredging work” →

Miller-Showers Park roundup: Gateway redesign, cold water rescue training, dredging, hawks, herons

Red-tailed hawk. Miller Showers Park (Jan. 21, 2024)
Bloomington firefighter, cold-water rescue training. Miller Showers Park (Jan. 21, 2024)
Great blue heron. Miller Showers Park (Jan. 21, 2024)
Red-tailed hawk. Miller Showers Park (Jan. 21, 2024)
Bloomington firefighters cold water rescue training. Miller Showers Park (Jan. 21, 2024)
Red-tailed hawk. Miller Showers Park (Jan. 21, 2024)

It’s just a nine-acre wedge, nestled between College Avenue and Walnut Street, north of 17th Street.

But over the last couple of days, Bloomington’s Miller-Showers Park has been the center of city government focus from more than one angle.

On Sunday morning at the park, the fire department conducted training for cold water rescues.

On Tuesday night, the parks department got approval from the board of park commissioners for a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with city of Bloomington utilities (CBU)—for the dredging of the park’s detention ponds. The same night, the utilities service board (USB) opened bids for the dredging work.

Also on Tuesday night, the board of park commissioners approved a $42,300 change in the contract with Rundell Ernstberger Associates (REA), which is the design firm for the city gateway that generated so much controversy last year.

Continue reading “Miller-Showers Park roundup: Gateway redesign, cold water rescue training, dredging, hawks, herons” →

Thanksgiving Day Photos: Some local Bloomington birds that are not turkeys

WFHB antenna (Nov. 23, 2023)
Griffy Lake (Nov. 23, 2023)
Miller-Showers Park (Nov. 23, 2023)
Griffy Lake (Nov. 23, 2023)
Miller-Showers Park (Nov. 23, 2023)
Griffy Lake (Nov. 23, 2023)
This image was generated by AI.

The photos above were taken inside of 90 minutes on the morning of Thanksgiving Day 2023. To save future archivists one chore, that was Nov. 23, 2023.

The chronological sequence starts with a red-tailed hawk perched on the WFHB antenna just across from the 4th Street parking garage in downtown Bloomington. The photo was taken from the roof of the garage.

From there, The B Square headed north to Miller-Showers Park. The red-shouldered hawk photos were taken at Miller-Showers Park.

After Miller-Showers Park, the next stop was Griffy Lake. That’s where the photos of the woodpeckers and the great blue heron were taken.

These photos are a good reminder that not every great bird is a turkey, not even on Thanksgiving Day.

For people who earn a livelihood writing the news,  Thanksgiving Day is also a good reminder to say thank you to the folks who keep us in business: Thank you, readers!

Below are more photos, including some that were taken on the day before Thanksgiving.

Continue reading “Thanksgiving Day Photos: Some local Bloomington birds that are not turkeys” →

Photos: Fancy birds at Miller-Showers Park

great blue heron (Nov. 5, 2023)
downy woodpecker (Nov. 4, 2023)
blue jay (Nov. 5, 2023)
red-shouldered hawk (Nov. 5, 2023)

Here’s one point that has been made in opposition to the planned, but now paused, Bloomington gateway project at Miller-Showers Park: The park is home to lots of wildlife that might be disturbed by the project.

What sorts of animals hang out there? A B Square visit to Miller-Showers Park on Sunday morning documented four bird species that could be considered above-average: a red-shouldered hawk; a great blue heron; a downy woodpecker; and a blue jay.

The park’s wildlife inventory is not limited to just those birds. For example, muskrats are known to patrol the stormwater detention basins. Redhead ducks sometimes stopover in the winter. But on Sunday morning it was just the birds in these photos.

The complete set of photos is below. For a zoomed-in look at a photo, click or tap it, and from there you can swipe or arrow through the rest as a slideshow.
Continue reading “Photos: Fancy birds at Miller-Showers Park” →

Miller-Showers showdown: great blue heron versus redwing blackbird

Miller-Showers Park (June 4, 2023)
Miller-Showers Park (June 4, 2023)
Miller-Showers Park (June 4, 2023)
Miller-Showers Park (June 4, 2023)
Miller-Showers Park (June 4, 2023)
Miller-Showers Park, on Bloomington’s north side, is wedged between College Ave and Walnut Street.

The public park is home to lots of redwing blackbirds—which will defend their nesting territory in a pretty aggressive way. The B Square got a heads up from a reader that they’ve been pretty aggressive in the last few days. They’ll flap their wings against your head if you get too close.

Redwing blackbirds will defend their nests against any threat they perceive—humans and birds alike.

On Sunday (June 4, 2023), it was a great blue heron that faced the wrath of a redwing blackbird, which let the bigger bird know it was not welcome to fish in peace.

There are more photos below. To see a larger version of any photo, click on it, then navigate through the rest at maximum resolution by arrowing or swiping left and right. Continue reading “Miller-Showers showdown: great blue heron versus redwing blackbird” →

Thanksgiving week Bloomington turkeys—in disguise

Red-tailed hawk downtown Bloomington (Nov. 23, 2022)
Great blue heron on Indiana University campus (Nov. 22, 2022)
American bald eagle at Griffy Lake (Nov. 24, 2022)
Cartoon panel from https://bsquarebulletin.com/2022/11/24/2022-happy-thanksgiving-bloomington/

A full week of Thanksgiving break at Indiana University means the campus and all of downtown Bloomington has been a lot quieter the last few days. One benefit: more wildlife. Continue reading “Thanksgiving week Bloomington turkeys—in disguise” →

Column | Lake Monroe: A neighborhood where Bloomington gets its drinking water

Great blue heron at Lake Monroe (Sept. 23, 2022).
Lake Monroe Day. Brian Hettmansperger, sales representative for Upland Brewing. (Sept. 18, 2022)
Lake Monroe Day. Kelsey Thetonia, Monroe County’s MS4 coordinator. (Sept. 18, 2022)
Lake Monroe Day. Sherry Mitchell-Bruker, board president of Friends of Lake Monroe. (Sept. 18, 2022)

From his yellow kayak floating along the shore of Lake Monroe, local birder David Rupp alerted me and five other paddlers: A great blue heron was sitting high in a tree on a dead branch.

Great blue herons are big, blue-gray, long-beaked wading birds—they’re commonly seen standing in the water. I don’t think to look in a tree.

As a professional guide, Rupp has a better eye for birds than most people. Even using binoculars, aided by Rupp’s precise description as he pointed at the tree, the great blue was hard to pick out.

But Rupp had spotted the bird just minutes after our small flotilla launched from the Pine Grove boat ramp.

Without being asked, Rupp gave us an insider tip: As soon as he’s out on the water, he always checks that dead tree branch to see what might be perched there. Sometimes it’s a great blue heron. Sometimes it’s a bald eagle.

Rupp knows where to look. Because he knows the neighborhood. Continue reading “Column | Lake Monroe: A neighborhood where Bloomington gets its drinking water” →

Photos/Column: Crowds flock to Fourth Street Festival, despite rainy stretches

Patches of rain through much of the day on Saturday did not keep crowds from cramming into Bloomington’s Fourth Street Festival of Arts and Crafts.

The annual event featured 117 different artists.

If I were giving the award for best in show, it would go to Marie Rust from Bitely, Michigan.

Her ink and colored pencil drawings of wildlife caught my eye as I navigated the packed aisle between the tents lining Fourth Avenue from Grant Street to Indiana Avenue.

It was the print of the great blue heron that drew my attention. I have developed a fondness for that bird, since I first spotted one at Miller-Showers Park in November of last year. Continue reading “Photos/Column: Crowds flock to Fourth Street Festival, despite rainy stretches” →

Advice for students: Bloomington is for the birds

Great blue heron fishing. Griffy Lake, Bloomington, Indiana (July 29, 2022)
Red-tailed hawk at First Presbyterian (July 29, 2022)

As a local government reporter, it is not hard to justify writing about the fancy birds that hang out in Bloomington’s public parks.

The birds at public parks are a part of my regular beat, because public parks are run by local government.

Local government officials can look to the redhead ducks at Miller-Showers or great blue herons at Griffy Lake  as an example to follow: As long as I have been watching, Bloomington’s pretty birds have never violated Indiana’s Open Door Law.

But the public parks are not the only outdoor places in Bloomington. There’s plenty of remarkable birds in other parts of town. Continue reading “Advice for students: Bloomington is for the birds” →

Photos: Claim confirmed, bald eagle at Griffy Lake

Last Tuesday, after Bloomington’s board of park commissioners meeting, operations director Tim Street told The B Square that a pair of bald eagles live out at Griffy Lake.

There’s a old reporter’s motto: “If your mother says she loves you, check it out.”

So on Saturday, The B Square checked it out.

Street was not kidding.

In the early afternoon, from the north end of the causeway, perched in a tree about 250 yards away, across the water on the south shore of the lake, a bald eagle was barely visible.

It flew off west along the south shore, then circled back, looped around low towards the middle of the lake, snatched a fish out of the water with its talons, and flew back to its perch, where it snacked on the fish.

The set of photos below, all taken on Saturday,  is presented in chronological order. It starts with a red-tailed hawk in downtown Bloomington, a great blue heron at Griffy Lake, the bald eagle, a turtle who made friends with a Canada goose, and a great blue heron at Miller-Showers Park.

Continue reading “Photos: Claim confirmed, bald eagle at Griffy Lake” →