BUFFALO SOCIETY OF NATURAL SCIENCES Q 



The colony gradually diminished until about 1900 when it 

 contained less than 40 nests. This falling away was due to a 

 large extent to the wholesale slaughter of old and young, which 

 was carried on nearly every year about the time that the young 

 began to fly. The Great Blue Heron feeds almost entirely on 

 fish and for this reason is destroyed in large numbers as an 

 injurious bird. 



Since 1900 the birds have not been destroyed and they 

 have gradually multiplied until the colony now contains about 

 one hundred nests. The bird is very wary, is powerful and 

 strong, has practically no enemies outside of man, is hardy 

 and long-lived and the numbers would undoubtedly increase 

 were they not molested by human beings. 



Fearing that the colony might be destroyed by the drain- 

 ing of the swamp to reclaim the land, I determined to visit 

 the heronry as many times as possible during the past year 

 and secure pictures of the birds and their nests at different 

 stages of their lives. I called on several of our local natu- 

 ralists for help in this work and they volunteered their services 

 at a moment's notice and I now take this occasion to extend 

 them my hearty thanks for their help. 



The Great Blue Herons arrive from the Southern States 

 in the latter part of March and seek their old nesting places 

 in the highest points of the elm trees. Occasionally there are 

 a large number of nests in one tree, a few years ago I noted 

 eleven in one large elm but this tree was blown down during 

 a heavy gale. The picture shows an old and experienced 

 male Heron surveying the surrounding nesting sites. They 

 return to their former roosts, look them over critically and 

 discuss their condition and availability with their accompanying 

 mates. In a few days they clean and repair their old homes 

 in preparation for their coming happy family. 



To satisfy their ravenous appetites they often fly fifty 

 miles or more to feeding grounds, because the immediate 

 neighborhood cannot supply them with sufficient food. In 

 returning from their foraging trips they utter a loud croaking. 

 When disturbed in the heronry they fly in circles overhead 

 and croak their disapproval of the intrusion. 



The birds build a large bulky nest from three to four 

 feet in diameter and twelve to eighteen inches thick, depend- 



