Great blue herons start returning to their rookery on the Mississippi River toward the end of March. Join Ranger Will at Marshall Terrace Park in Minneapolis to watch them rebuild nests and do a little flirting. If we are lucky, we might see the resident peregrine falcons fly over, as well as migrating ducks like buffleheads and goldeneye.
We will be down on the banks of the Mississippi River, weather permitting. Prepare for some mud or ice.
We encourage bringing binoculars and Cameras. We will have a few spotting scopes to aid viewing the birds.
This event is free and open to everyone but registration is required to help with crowd control.
A ranger and volunteers will greet you on the walking path near the path that leads to the river bank.
The walking path is fully accessible, but the path that leads down to the river bank is not. The heron rookery is still visible from the walking path. Please ask a park ranger or volunteer for assistance.
Free parking can be reliably found on the street adjacent to the park, Marshall St. SE. Please allow heron-viewers with mobility needs to use the park's smaller parking lot.