These local Bloomington birds were photographed over the course of the last year. Continue reading “Photos: Three cheers for the red-tailed hawk, the great white egret and the blue heron”
The Monroe County courthouse red-tailed hawk beat, which The B Square has been covering since Earth Day this year, has been quiet for a few weeks.
Before Saturday (May 28) the last sighting of the hawk had been on May 9. On that day the bird took up is customary post on top of the courthouse weathervane, then flew off in its nonchalant spectacular way.
But on Saturday morning, The B Square was able to document what appears to be nest-build activity by the hawk, in a tree on the courthouse grounds.
Below are separate sets of photos, from Saturday and three weeks ago. Continue reading “Photos: Red-tailed hawk moves for change of venue, swaps courthouse weathervane for tree branch”
The cost of maintaining the lagoon retention walls at Miller-Showers Park will be split between city of Bloomington utilities (CBU) and the city’s parks and recreation department.
The utilities service board (USB) approved its side of the arrangement at its regular meeting on Monday night. The same memorandum of understanding is supposed to be presented to the board of park commissioners at their meeting on Tuesday next week (Feb. 22).
The park is wedged between College Avenue and Walnut Street just south of the SR-46 bypass.
The inventory of wildlife at the park observed by The B Square in the last week at the park includes: mallards; redhead ducks; muskrats; and a possibly a Cooper’s hawk. (The bird has also been identified on social media as a red-tailed hawk.)
The park includes a series of stepped lagoons that are a part of the northside stormwater management infrastructure. Stormwater from more than 170 acres of the city drains into the Miller-Showers facility, and eventually farther downstream.
The detention ponds in the park slow the flow so that sediment can settle out of the water, improving water quality downstream. CBU is responsible for the city’s stormwater management. That’s why CBU is partly responsible for the cost of maintaining the infrastructure of Miller-Showers Park. Continue reading “Miller-Showers Park: Bloomington utilities and parks formalizing arrangements on who pays for what”