Popular for its colorful structures and playgrounds along with its sprawling sports fields, Celebration Park has been undergoing changes in its well-known landscape to adjust to certain bird species that will sometimes make the park a temporary home. The City of Allen held an information session on Saturday, March 8 to discuss the migratory bird species in the area that have been disrupting park-goers as well as the local environment at Celebration.

“Last year we cleared the trees out at Celebration to discourage the settlement of Cattle Egrets,” Assistant Director of the Allen Parks and Rec Department Brian Bristow said. “They can potentially be very disruptive to the general public, so we wanted to take the necessary precautionary measures to ensure that they would not settle in the park. The cattle egrets take a liking to dark, dense, treed areas so we wanted to get rid of those in Celebration to discourage migratory bird settlement there.”

In past years, the Cattle Egret has caused disruption to the area.

According to the City of Allen website, “Last year, the five acre wooded section of the park adjacent to Angel Parkway was closed for over six months as a large population of federally protected Cattle Egrets nested. Since that time, Parks staff spent significant time cleaning the area and trimming low vegetation and small trees in order to thin the forest canopy to discourage nesting this year. Other methods suggested by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service include raising balloons that have a large “eye” or similar graphic and utilizing devices that will temporarily create a noisy, disruptive environment.”

However, nature does not plan according to human needs.

“If the birds nest despite our efforts we will have no choice but to close off the section of the park because they are an endangered species and are protected by federal law,” Bristow said.

Until that point, the city and its residents are encouraged to detect and prevent the establishment of Cattle Egret and Night Heron (the scout bird of the Cattle Egret) nests.

“Up until the birds settle, and lay their first egg, The City of Allen can take all preventative measures possible to discourage the birds settling in the area,” Bristow said. “We encourage residents and those who use the park often to take these measures too.”

For more information on local migratory birds, visit the City of Allen website.