KOOIJ H VAN DER (1991) Nest-habitat of the Purple Heron Ardea purpurea in The Netherlands. LIMOSA 64 (3): 103-112.

Information on nest-habitat of the Purple Heron Ardea purpurea in The Netherlands during 1980-89 was collected with reference to vegetation types, height of nests above ground or water, water depth under nests, and species of shrubs and trees in which nests were located. This information is compared with data gleaned .from the literature with respect to the former situation in The Netherlands (late 19th and early 20th century), and to the situation in other European countries. Based on the type of vegetation in which nests and colonies were found, three nest-types are distinguished:(I) Reed-nests (nests on herbaceous plants growing in shallow water, primarily Phragmites communis, occasionally Typha angustifolia, Scirpus lacustris or Cladium mariscus); (2) Trembling-bog nests (nests on shrubs and low trees in trembling-bog vegetation generally dominated by Carex paniculata); (3) Bush-nests (nests on shrubs and low trees like willows and alder and nests in more or less thick bush that originated from reedland by natural succession). Reed- and trembling-bog-nests are located in terrain that is difficult of access, bush-nests are in more accessible terrain. During the 1980s, on average 46% of all Dutch nests were reed-nests, 47% were bush-nests. Tremblingbog- nests were uncommon, generally accounting for 5% or less of all nests (Table 2 a-d). The total number of pairs breeding in The Netherlands decreased in the course of the 1980s from 5-600 to c. 300 (Table 2d). Mean nest height of reed-nests is only c. 70 cm above the water, trembling-bog-nests are generally situated 1-2 m above the ground (occasionally lower), and bush-nests at 2-3 m, sometimes up to 6 m (Table 2, figs. 1, 2). Reed-nests are found on vegetation growing in shallow water where water depth is generally in the order of 10-30 cm. The principal tree species used by Purple Herons for nestbuilding is Salix cinerea (fig. 3). Study of historical sources suggests that the species' nesting habitat preference in The Netherlands has not changed markedly since the midjlate 19th century. Study of the sparse extant literature on the species' nesting habitat preferences in other European countries reveals that trembling-bog- and bush-nests are infrequently found outside The Netherlands; therefore, nests at heights exceeding 2 m above ground or water are rare in other countries, but common in The Netherlands. A very large majority of nests in other countries ace reed-nests, and are located in extensive reedbeds where water is often deeper (50 cm) than under reed-nests in The Netherlands. Reedbeds in deeper water are rare in The Netherlands. Some general suggestions are presented with respect to management of the vegetation in Purple Heron nesting habitats. 111 Literatuur BAUER K. M. & GLUTZ VON BLOTZHEIM U. N. 1966. Handbuch der Vogel Mitteleuropas, Bd. 1. Akademische Verlagsgesellschaft, Frankfurt am Main. CRAMP S. & SIMMONS K. E. L. 1977. Handbook of the Birds of Europe, the Middle East and North Africa. Vol.1. Oxford University Press, Oxford. DRIJVER J. 1927. Vroegere broedplaatsen van Purperreiger en Lepelaar. De Levende Natuur 32: 123-124. DUHAUTClIS L. 1984. Heron pourpre, butors: Ie declin. Le Courrier la Nature 92: 21-29. VAN DIJK D. 1982. De Purperreiger en het Bosje van Robertson. Velp: verslag Hogere Bosbouw en Cu1tuurtechnische School. EYKMAN c., HENS P. A., VAN HEURN F. C. e.a. 1941. De Nederlandsche Vogels. Dl. II: 512-515. Wageningsche Boek en Hande1sdrukkerij N.V. Wageningen. HAVERSCHMIDT FR. 1942. Faunistisch overzicht van de Nederlandsche broedvogels. Brill, Leiden. HOSPER U. G. 1984. De avifauna van de Aide Feanen. Vanellus 26: 3-13. TEN KATE C. G. B. 1929. Enkele gegevens over de nieuwe purperreigerkolonie in NW-Overijssel. Orgaan Club Ned. Vogelkundigen 2: 21-26. VAN DER KOOIJ H. 1983. De Purperreiger in Nederland in dejaren 1980 tim 1982. Vogeljaar 31: 169-176. -- 1987. De Nederlandse Purperreiger in 1986. Vogeljaar 35: 79-83. -- 1989. Het broedseizoen 1988 van de Purperreiger in Nederland. Voge1jaar 37: 162-165 LEYS H. N. 1972. Een broedvoge1inventarisatie in het reservaat De Weerribben in 1971. Rapport Voge1werkgroep Wageningen. MANUEL F. 1957. Nouvelle vue d'ensemble sur Ie Heron pourpre en Suisse. Nos Oiseaux 24: 35-59. MAYAUD N. 1932. Quelques donnees sur la nidification du Heron pourpre en France. Bulletin Ornithologique Romand 1(1): 12-19. VAN OMMEN F. 1971. Waarnemingen in een kolonie van de purperreiger. De Levende Natuur 74: 107-109. OWEN D. F.& PHILIPS G. C. 1956. The food of the nestling Purple Herons in Holland. British Birds 49: 494-499. 112

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