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Could Chicago Symphony site disrupt DuPage County's blue heron population?

Some fear the largest communal nesting ground for great blue herons in DuPage County could be abandoned if the Chicago Symphony Orchestra builds a permanent outdoor concert venue in Naperville.

Symphony officials are considering a site owned by Alcatel-Lucent on the northeast side of the city for a summer concert venue.

While the proposal still is in the preliminary stages and the CSO has not agreed to buy the property, a Naperville couple already is raising concerns because the site is about 200 feet away from a heron rookery in Danada Forest Preserve.

“The herons would be way too close to a music stadium,” said Marty Fielder, who along with Judith Nesbitt is hoping the DuPage County Forest Preserve District will acquire the property before the CSO to protect the birds.

If a concert venue is built, Fielder said the combination of music and light would disrupt the herons, which arrive at the rookery in late March to mate and lay their eggs.

“The symphony has pretty awesome music,” Fielder said, “but there's a lot of crescendo in there. The drums build. It's loud.”

Typically, the herons stay at the rookery to raise their chicks until they migrate south in the fall.

But Fielder says the birds will leave if they're disturbed.

“They will never stay there,” he said. “They will be driven away.”

On Monday, Kevin Giglinto, vice president for strategy and special initiatives at the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Association, said officials are aware of the concern for the heron rookery.

“We are still in the early and conceptual phase of this project, so it is helpful to learn about the issue now,” Giglinto said in a written statement. “If and when this venue project moves forward, the CSOA will engage with the DuPage County Forest Preserve as well as the appropriate experts who can advise on how to best solve these concerns.”

Nesbitt said her hope is that the forest preserve district gets the site first. She said she would love for the district to restore the land and install a man-made rookery to expand the existing rookery.

In the meantime, Nesbitt is trying to get environmental groups, including the Sierra Club, involved.

“The emails that we're getting are really promising,” said Nesbitt, adding some groups are speaking with the CSO.

Forest preserve spokeswoman Sue Olafson said the district attempted to buy the property in the past. But in 2011, the district had to give up because it couldn't meet the seller's asking price.

When asked if the district would be interested in acquiring the site now, Olafson said, “The land hasn't been identified as a priority at this time.”

As for the rookery, district officials acknowledge it's special because it's the largest they know of in DuPage.

“There's a couple of other smaller colonies,” said Scott Meister, the district's ecology coordinator. “But they are far smaller than the one at Danada.”

Meister said the first nests at Danada were discovered in 1997. “Why they chose that site we don't know for sure,” Meister said. “But the colony slowly grew over the years.”

In the spring of 2008, there were more than 150 nests, according to Meister. The number of nests earlier this year was estimated to be 121.

While great blue herons are sensitive to disturbance, Meister said it's unknown what impact a concert venue would have on the rookery.

“To be honest, I don't know how loud the symphony is,” he said. “And we don't even know the timing of the concerts.”

According to Meister, the birds are most sensitive to disturbance when they are choosing a nest site and constructing the nest in the early spring.

“If they have their young and there's some sort of disturbance, caring for the young is going to be their priority.” Meister said. “They may tolerate disturbance a little bit more. But if that disturbance is there first when they come back and begin a nest, they may decide to choose another location.”

At one point, the CSO's list of potential sites included parcels owned by the forest preserve district, but state law prohibits the district from leasing or selling land to a private entity.

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A great blue heron rookery in Danada Forest Preserve in Wheaton is located close to land where the Chicago Symphony Orchestra might build a concert venue. Courtesy of the DuPage County Forest Preserve
  This great blue heron nest made of sticks and twigs is one of many at the rookery in the Danada Forest Preserve in Wheaton. Mark Black/mblack@dailyherald.com
  DuPage County Forest Preserve officials say they counted 121 nests earlier this year at the great blue heron rookery in Danada Forest Preserve. Mark Black/ mblack@dailyherald.com
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