On the afternoon of May 22, 2011, a tornado ripped its way across North Minneapolis destroying homes and businesses and killing one person while injuring 30 others. It's path carried it through the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area and across an in-river island containing a large colony of breeding blue herons at the height of the nesting season. The large trees and the nests were destroyed dumping chicks and eggs onto the island and into the river and killing and injuring adult birds. Park rangers from the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area, wildlife rehabilitation experts, and a Minnesota conservation officer visited the island rescuing heron chicks and injured adult birds.
blue herons
blue herons