A Little Blue Heron Rookery 



By M. HARRY MOORE 



ABOUT nine miles northeast of DeFuniak Springs, Florida, is a beautiful 

 body of water called Lake Cassidy. It is fringed by magnificent cyp- 

 ress trees draped in long "moss," — a border necessarily narrow on 

 account of the abrupt sloping of the banks upward to the surrounding forest 

 of the stately long-leaved pines. A small portion of the northern part of this 

 lake is being filled up by nature and is now in the intermediate stage between 

 lake and swamp. Many shrubs grow here in the shallow water, as well as an 

 abundance of white and yellow pond-lilies, and other water plants. In the shal- 

 lower places among the bushes, sphagnum has transformed it into a bog. It 

 is in this marshy part that the Little Blue Herons nest during the warm days 

 of spring and summer. Having visited the place three years before, and knowing 

 that it was a favorite place for these Herons, we decided to visit the lake again 

 and make a fuller study of their early nesting habits, for it was late in July 

 when I was at the rookery before. 



On May i, 1908, we started and reached the lake a short time before sunset. 

 We saw several little Green Herons and a few Little Blues flying about. How- 

 ever, it was too late to go to the rookery, for it was nearly a mile distant from the 

 landing. We concluded to wait and take an early start next morning. So, we 

 built a camp-fire, and disregarding the "redbugs," or "chiggers," we lay down 

 to sleep on the ground near the fire. As day was dawning over the lake we were 

 making ready, and by the time it was light we were on our way in a small boat. 

 We had not gone far when we observed a large flock of ducks near the center 

 of the lake, but they took flight before we got near enough to identify them. 

 After our effort to get near the ducks, we once more started for the rookery. 

 A little farther on the way, our attention was attracted by a large alligator float- 

 ing ahead, but it sank out of sight as we approached. 



As we got near the rookery, we could see the Herons flying in every direc- 

 tion,— some flying in toward their nests and others leaving for their feeding- 

 grounds. Seeing that it was almost impossible to reach the rookery by boat, 

 we landed and walked around to the point of the shore nearest it. From here 

 we decided to wade to the rookery which was about one hundred yards distant. 

 This was not easy, for the water was about three and one-half feet deep, and 

 the bottom was not firm, and all the time we were half expecting to see an alli- 

 gator rise to the surface. We reached the rookery in safety, however, and found 

 what more than repaid us for our trouble. 



Here, in a dense thicket of shrubs of the Heath Family (Leucothoe race- 

 mosa), less than a half-acre in extent, we found two or three hundred nests of 

 the Little Blue Heron. The bushes were standing in water about two feet deep, 

 and the nests were in the bushes about three or four feet above the water. The 

 nests were built of twigs, being little more than mere platforms of sticks. They 



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