Notes from Field and Study 



421 



— Harold C. Bry.ant, Berkeley, Calif. 



A Record of the Bald Eagle from 

 Champaign County, HI. 



Early in May a puir of Bald Kagles 

 appeared northeast of Rantoul, 111., and 

 remained in the vicinity until one of the 

 pair was shot. 



They were first noticed on May 3; after 

 that they were seen several times in the 

 vicinity of an old orchard and a big grove 

 which they frequented. .\ farmer in the 

 neighborhood finally shot one of them on 

 May 7, when it perched in a low tree near 

 a hog-pasture, after it had tried to take 

 one of his small shoals. The wing-spread 

 of the bird was over 5 feet. 



A few weeks later, a second Kagle was 



shot about 5 miles south of the place 

 where the first was killed. Presumably 

 these two birds killed were mates, for the 

 Bald Eagle is not such a common visitant 

 to the central Illinois prairies that three 

 would likely be seen within such a re- 

 stricted locality in so brief a time. The 

 last previous record was in 191 5. — Sidney 

 E. Ekblaw, Rantoul, III. 



The Blue Grosbeak in Central Illinois 



Early on the morning of May 3, this 

 year, while our family was at breakfast, 

 we heard bird-notes new to us, so often 

 repeated that they could hardlj'^ be unfa- 

 miliar notes of any of our known bird 

 friends. 



Upon investigation, a quick flash of 

 dusky blue in a low plum bush attracted 

 my attention to the bird from whence the 

 notes came. Careful stalking brought not 

 only this bird, but another of even brighter 

 blue, into plain view, so that I had no 

 difficulty in identifying them. They were 

 the Blue Grosbeak. 



For five days they stayed about the 

 place, as leisurely at home as if they had 

 selected the place for summer residence; 

 then they were gone again. 



This was the first time in many years of 

 observation of birds about my home that 

 we had recorded this bird, so I was elated 

 at my good fortune in seeing them — 

 Sidney E. Ekblaw, Rantoul, III. 



Our Summer Boarders 



Last winter I hung the usual piece of 

 suet on a tree near the porch of our house, 

 but we had very few winter birds — an 

 occasional Downy, but no Chickadees or 

 Nuthatches. I left the suet hang during 

 the summer, and it has certainly been a 

 source of enjoyment. One family of 

 Downies, two Catbird families. Blue Jays, 

 and Red-headed Woodpeckers have feasted 

 upon it, which shows it does not alto- 

 gether serve as winter food. 



The suet is suspended from a brancii on 

 a siring, and the Downy, in his Wood- 

 pecker fashion, hangs on the suet while 



