February, 1922. 



The Canadian Field-Naturalist 



35 



the same brood a week later fJune 21) I found 

 that the soft down had disappeared and the 

 plumage was uniformly a rusty brown with 

 black markings. On my approaching the young 

 birds, they objected to my intrusion in loud 

 voices and gave every evidence that my visit was 

 an unwelcome one. But I was there for a purpose, 

 and not even the menacing claws of the parent 

 bird were going to rob me of my intent with the 

 camera. 



I found on this visit the shelf of the rock carpet- 

 ed with the feathers of the bird victims of the 

 falcons which had been used to feed their voracious 

 off-spring. The face wall of the granite cliff 

 was a scene of carnage stained with bird blood, 

 indicating that a sort of "Belshazzar's feast" 

 had been conducted on the spot. Rich booty 

 had been brought from field and farm and slaugh- 

 tered for consumption. The odor from the 

 decomposing parts that remained uneaten was 

 far from pleasant on a hot summer afternoon. 

 Flies swarmed about the decaying and decomposed 

 victims of the falcon feast, and, having accom- 

 plished the chief purpose of my visit, I departed. 



Through the asssistance of Dr. Fisher and Mr 

 P. A. Taverner I was able positively to identify 

 the following victims of the falcon slaughter: 

 Black Duck, Green Heron, Florida Gallinule, 

 Killdeer, Ruffed Grouse, Nighthawk, Blue Jay. 

 Black-billed Cuckoo, Meadowlark, Scarlet Tana- 

 ger, Brown Thrasher, Flicker, domestic fowl, such 

 as half grown Plymouth Rock, and one undeter- 

 mined. It will be seen from this list of victims 

 that tne Tanager is the smallest bird to attract 

 the attention and tempt the appetite of these 

 hawks. 



On the date of my last visit, June 21, the 

 young hawks, judged by their unusual vigor and 

 activity, fully intended to take flight on my 

 approach, which two of them did, the third 

 member of the family being prevented from follow- 

 ing the example of the rest by having a canvas 

 smock thrown quickly over its head. 



At times these Falcons appear to live on friend- 

 ly terms with their bird neighbors, and. ludicrous 

 as it may seem, on one occasion an old disreputable 

 Crow disputed possession of the top branches of 

 a look-out tree with the hawk. On different 

 cccasions I have observed and recorded Spotted 

 Sandpipers, Kingfishers, Crackles and Tree 

 Swallows living and rearing their families within 

 the shadow of the cliff home of the falcon. 



On the wing the falcon is swift and graceful and 

 one is amazed at the speed with which the female 

 catapults from her shelf with a downward thrust to 

 meet intruders, uttering her cackling notes 

 which echo warning along the line of cliff in the 

 early hours of the morning. During the long 

 years of life which one may devote to the interest- 

 ing study of bird life, many delightful incidents 

 may occur, but climbing a cliff full of difficulties 

 and dangers in order to discover and examine a 

 rare bird's home and its contents has compensa- 

 tions sufficient for the most enthusiastic orni- 

 thologist, and I shall always cherish deep in the 

 recesses of memory my experiences in securing 

 these data concerning the Peregrine Falcon. 



My latest visit to the home and haunt of the 

 Duck Hawk was on June 9 of this year (1921); 

 except to confirm my previous observations I did 

 not see or become familiar with anything new. 

 Two young hawks were hatched from three eggs, 

 the addled egg still being in the nest. The rock 

 ledge was profusely strewn with the feathers of 

 the victims of the parent hawks, consisting of 

 Black Ducks and Scarlet Tanagers, with a Belted 

 Kingfisher added to the list. The young hawks 

 looked snug and comfortable in their thick cover- 

 ing of white down. The development was so 

 rapid that I received information by June 29 they 

 were strong enough to take flight. 



In a crevice of the granite rock about ten feet 

 above the home of the hawks, a pair of Phoebes 

 had built their nest, and, in the midst of all the 

 carnage created by the hawks, the mother Phoebe 

 was tenderly caring for her little brood. 



PRESERVING ORDER IN A BIRD SANCTUARY 



By J. A. MuNRO, Okanagan Landing, British Columbia 



The bird sanctuary of the following article is 

 of modest proportions and has no official status 

 under the Migratory Birds Convention Act. It 

 is a garden sanctuary comprising several hundred 

 square yards of orchard about my house and a 

 small patch of brush on the shore of Okanagan 

 Lake. In this small area there is a normal 

 population of about fifteen pairs of birds of the 



following species: Eastern and Western Kingbird, 

 Western Wood Peewee, Chipping Sparrow, Cedar 

 Waxwing, Yellow Warbler, Tree Sparrow, House 

 Wren, Mountain Bluebird and Robin, and the 

 maintenance of order amongst this varied popula- 

 tion occasionally demands that rather drastic 

 measures be taken. 



The Robin is usually a welcome boarder. No 



