There’s no regret over great egret
Activists’ alarm spurs action that saves migratory bird’s population; habitat’s restored, too
Starting in August, hundreds of great egrets converge to feed on fish in the marshy hunting grounds of Smith and Bybee Wetlands Natural Area.
SARAH TOOR / PAMPLIN MEDIA GROUP
In one of Oregon’s surest signs that summer is on the wane, great egrets have returned to North Portland’s Smith and Bybee Wetlands Natural Area to feed in the receding, sun-warmed waters.
“One day they won’t be there, and then the next day you’ll see dozens of them, even hundreds,” says James Davis, a naturalist who works for Metro, which manages Smith and Bybee.
The egrets usually arrive in August and spend the fall months standing tall in the shallow pools, their stoic stillness punctuated by lethal lunges at fish and amphibians. With their snow-white plumage and long yellow bills, they make a vivid counterpoint to their cousins, the familiar great blue herons.
The egrets’ path to Portland remains something of a mystery, but the trip is thought to begin — and end — at their breeding grounds in California.
When breeding season ends, the birds spread out in search of marshy hunting grounds. Smith and Bybee is one of their earliest arrival sites in this region.
“They spend a few months eating the fish that get stranded in the shallow water — it’s a feeding frenzy,” Davis says. “And then, bit by bit, they disappear.”
The egrets’ annual visit testifies to the health of their population — and of the wetlands that nurture them. Both the great egret and Smith and Bybee have seen far worse days.
At the beginning of the 20th century, plume hunters prized great egrets for their aigrettes, the flamboyant plumes that grow on males’ backs during the breeding season. The hunters sold the feathers to milliners, who worked overtime to meet the relentless demand for oversize, gaudy hats bedecked with feathers and flowers.
“In Oregon, populations of great egrets were absolutely decimated by plume hunters,” says Bob Sallinger, conservation director for the Portland Audubon Society.
The National Audubon Society was established in part to stop the killings and took the great egret as its emblem to emphasize its mission. Thanks in large part to the society’s efforts, Congress passed the Migratory Bird Treaty Act in 1918.
For great egrets, the act literally was a lifesaver: Over the years of unregulated hunting, the birds had lost 95 percent of their population.
Habitat restoration worked
Today, Sallinger says, great egrets have “made an amazing comeback.”
It’s a recovery on vivid display at Smith and Bybee, which has returned to its natural wetland state after decades of human-caused degradation. Sprawling over nearly 2,000 acres in the heart of North Portland’s industrial peninsula, Smith and Bybee is now the country’s largest protected urban wetland.
For millennia, the area flooded in the winter and dried up in the summer, providing a dynamic environment for plants and animals adapted to the extremes. But when nearby dams, fills and dikes led to year-round flooded conditions at Smith and Bybee, many native plants went into hiding, and some migratory birds canceled their layovers.
It took technology and public will to restore the balance. In 2003, Metro used voter-approved funds to install a water control structure between Smith Lake and Bybee Lake that allows Metro to mimic the wetlands’ natural cycle. Now the lakes once again swell in the winter and recede in the summer months.
The fish that become stranded in the shrinking pools are easy pickings for egrets, osprey, bald eagles and the occasional American white pelican.
With the re-creation of Smith and Bybee’s natural conditions, plants such as wapato and bulrush sprouted and bloomed for the first time in decades.
“There’s a whole community of plants called edge, or transition plants,” explains Metro’s Davis, who leads regular nature walks at Smith and Bybee. “Their seeds can stay in the mud for years, and if the water draws down, they’ll sprout.”
These plants — including beggar’s-ticks, whose fall bloom creates a golden ring around the lakes — provide abundant food for another species of Smith and Bybee visitor.
“When the rains come, and these plants have left a bazillion seeds in the mud, it’s duck city,” Davis says.
People made welcome, too
As the variety and amount of wildlife at Smith and Bybee have increased, Metro has worked to enhance public access. A paved trail featuring two viewing platforms meanders through the area, while more recent improvements include a canoe launch and a parking lot with interpretive displays.
“I think the work Metro has done at Smith and Bybee is phenomenal,” Sallinger says. “It’s a great example of what restoration efforts can do in an urban ecosystem. It’s also a reminder that wildlife really does use this area, and if we provide for them, the results are pretty dramatic.”
While Smith and Bybee provides a living laboratory for local scientists and wildlife professionals, many local residents know it simply as a good place to experience the natural world without having to leave the city.
Indeed, Smith and Bybee is a distinctly urban refuge, surrounded by industry and a decommissioned landfill. Air traffic from Portland International Airport flies overhead. The wetlands’ ability to thrive in this challenging environment is a significant part of its appeal.
Birder spies more than 167
On a recent weekday morning, amateur bird-watcher Andy Frank walked along the Interlakes Trail at Smith and Bybee. The roar of truck traffic on North Marine Drive faded away as he went deeper into the wetlands’ interior.
“The sense of space and the openness here are just wonderful,” said Frank, who visits the wetlands about twice a week to count waterfowl and shorebirds and then report his findings on a local birding listserv. Last year, he counted 549 great egrets here at their peak in late October.
Frank set up his spotting scope at the edge of Bybee Lake and slowly panned across the congregation of great egrets basking in the early sun.
“One hundred and sixty-seven,” he murmured, jotting the number in a small notebook. Then he noticed several more, perched together in a small tree just beyond the water’s edge, against the distant backdrop of Forest Park and the gothic towers of the St. Johns Bridge.
He added these birds to his tally and scanned the old landfill — now a tranquil meadow — for more spots of bright white in the tall grasses.
Frank smiled, saying, “Considering we’re in the city of Portland right now, this is pretty cool.”
Smith and Bybee Wetlands Natural Area
Where: 5300 N. Marine Drive, between the Expo Center and Kelley Point Park, 2.2 miles west of I-5, 503-797-1715
Hours: Sunrise to sunset
More: www.smithandbybeelakes.org