Comparison of Great Blue Heron, Ardea herodias, reproduction at Boot Island and other Nova Scotia colonies

Comparison of Great Blue Heron, Ardea herodias, reproduction at Boot Island and other Nova Scotia colonies.Canadian Field-Naturalist 97(3): 275-278.Nesting behaviour and reproductive success of Great Blue Herons (Ardea herodias) on Boot Island, Nova Scotia, are reported for 1977 and 1978.Forty-two pairs bred in 1977 and 26 pairs in 1978.Mean clutch sizes were 4.6 and 5.0 and averages of 2.6 and 3.1 young were fledged per pair in 1977 and 1978, respectively.Additional colonies censused showed that fledging success in Nova Scotia was among the highest reported.Great Blue Herons were sensitive to human disturbance, particularly early in their nesting cycle.However, marine islands in Nova Scotia that usually are free from human disturbance and less susceptible to predation but are close to adequate feeding areas, provide superior heron breeding habitat.