THE OOLOG1ST 



73 



The Herons of Michigan. 



There are seven* species of Herons 

 known to our state, as follow: Great 

 hlue,Ardca herodtas; American Egret, 

 Ardea egretta; Snowy, Anl> a cindidissi- 

 ma\ Green, Ardea virescens; Black- 

 crowned Night Nycticorax nycticorax 

 >i a: ci us \Amv\-\e an BittemBolaums leng- 

 tiginosua, and Least Bittern, Ardelta 

 exiles. 



GREAT BLUE HERON. 



This is our commonest species and is 

 Very generally distributed, being found . 

 throughout nearly the entire length and 

 breadth of our state and in both penin- 

 sulas. It is not affected by civilization 

 to any great extent, although of necess- 

 ity a bird of this size shuns too well 

 peopled sections. It is not a recluse 

 and yet it is often found feeding in 

 quarters far removed from the habita- 

 tions of man. Where fish are found 

 plentiful in lake or stream there the Gt. 

 Blue Heron, or Crane, as it is often and 

 improperly called, will also he found. 

 I have found it breeding in several col- 

 onies or heronries as these gatherings 

 of nests are called. These nesting sites 

 are alwas chosen far from the habita- 

 tions of man, as the birds prefer isola- 

 tion during the ne-ting season, though 

 often found fishing in the neighborhood 

 of thickly settled quarters. After a 

 nesting site is selected however, it is ex- 

 ceedingly difficult to drive the birds 

 from it, and the herons will continue to 

 build and rear their .young iri the face 

 of extreme persecution. It is only af- 

 ter long and continued suffering that the 

 Herons of this species will vacate a 

 heronry and seek other quarters. I know 

 of two craneries which have been so de- 

 serted, and the bulky nests, gradually 



•some lists embrace two others and even three 

 other species have been suggested: Enouyh 

 proof 1,0 convince me that the Little Rim, J.oui-u- 

 ciiia and "> ello.v-cro n ned Night Herons are 

 tviictilgan birds, has uot yet been adduced. 



.wearing away, remain for many years as 

 an evidence of a former Crane village. 

 I have visited heronries of this species 

 which embraced only thirteen nests in 

 live trees, and again have seen as many 

 as two hundred nests, new and old, in 

 one group. It is more c mimon I imag- 

 ine to liud these huge villages than the 

 small ones, if the birds are not disturb- 

 ed. Information has reached me of 

 some immense heronries of a thousand 

 nests, but I have never seen one of them 

 I have visited villages in Van Buren St. 

 Joseph, Barry, and Ottawa counties, 

 and at present there is evidence that 

 the birds formerly colonized in Kalama- 

 zoo county within a few miles of a pop- 

 ulous city. 



The nests,, huge, bulky structures, 

 are invariably placed in the up- 

 per branches of lofty trees, and 

 the sycamore, Platanus occidentalis, is 

 most often selected, and not rarely an 

 entire colony of nests is built in these 

 trees. However a few nests are gener- 

 ally placed in other trees, and I have 

 found rests in huge elms, in ash trees 

 and once in a timber oak. The number 

 of nests in one tree varies from one to 

 sixteen, jet it is unusual to find a sin- 

 gle nest or more than ten, while the us- 

 ual number in a fair-sized heronyis six 

 or seven. The average height at which 

 they are placed in the sycamore is sev- 

 enty feet. The nearest to the ground 

 being rather over fifty feet, while the 

 highest was quite ninety feet up. 



To secure the eggs is a skillful matter 

 not unattended with danger, for the 

 great trunks of the sycamore often as- 

 cend fifty feet without a limb and are 

 nearly as smooth as a board The work 

 of climbing out to the nests on the long 

 smooth limbs,- is not the least part of 

 the undertaking. The limbs twenty or 

 thirty feet in length, and exceedingly 

 uncertain footing, even for the most ex- 

 pert climber with the sharpest of spurs 

 are covered with ilie limey excrement 

 of the birds, which renders them do ub- 



