About 100 discarded Christmas trees were dragged by snowmobiles across a frozen Baker’s Lake to a rookery in an effort to attract endangered black crown night herons.
The man-made sanctuary, home to about 1,700 birds, was installed with hollow tubes in the mud bottom to be used to hold natural trees to encourage the birds to migrate. Higher telephone poles aid other birds.
About seven volunteers with Citizens for Conservation walked on the ice to the mud and peat island in the middle of the shallow lake off U.S. Highway 14 and Hillside Avenue in Barrington to remove old trees and replace them with newer ones. Staff from the Crabtree Nature Center and Cook County Forest Preserve District police also helped. The lake is owned by the district.
Trees were thrown into a four-wheel cart and taken over by three police officers on snowmobiles, who battled the cold.
“You have to like riding a snowmobile,” said Sgt. Robert Agnes. “Me? I prefer riding my Harley. We’re here for the safety. If something does happen, our guys are prepared to deal with an emergency situation.”
Jeff Rapp, director of the Crabtree Nature Center, said old trees help create a barrier to stop erosion while the new ones are for the birds.
“It’s an attempt to try and create nature,” he said. “The double breasted cormorants, they pretty much have bullied over the other birds.”
Bob Lee, who serves on the board of Citizens for Conservation, a volunteer group that works to protect and restore native plant and wildlife areas, was on the rookery to take down around 60 old trees. The group led efforts to restore the island and also have helped to restore and preserve around 3,000 acres of open space in the Barrington area.
“We removed the old Christmas trees from last year,” said Lee. “We’re building nesting places for the herons to come.”
When he and others got to the rookery, he said they were greeted by more than just birds.
“There was a coyote out there. He was probably getting his winter meal,” said Lee, noting numerous bird carcasses.
The last time Lee ventured out to the rookery was about 10 years ago.
“It’s an amazing structure. It’s holding up well,” said Lee. “It was well worth it, but it’s chilly. Glad I came out today than tomorrow when it’s supposed to be subzero.”
