The Audubon Societies 



77 



She certainly knew by this time that I 

 knew she was there, for when I approached 

 she turned nervously. When I got a bit 

 closer she arose slightly and began draw- 

 ing soft down about the edge of the nest, 

 tucking it under with her bill, so her eggs 

 would be protected if she really had to 

 leave. 



Not fifty yards away we found a second 

 Pintail's nest where the owner was very 

 much wilder. The incubation of the eggs 

 was at about the same stage in both nests, 

 yet the two ducks were very different in 



its nest in the most remote corner it can 

 find. The duck has many enemies which 

 do not seem to disturb the other birds. In 

 one place I found several different durk- 

 nests that had been raided b\- some egg- 

 sucking animals; nothing but the shells 

 remained. 



Ducks do not always nest in the midst 

 of the marsh. I found one nest half a mile 

 from the river in the woods. There arc- 

 many destructive animals in the woods, 

 yet, perhaps, not many more than on the 

 open marsh. 



A PAIR OF CANADA GEESE WITH THEIR SIX YOUNG 



individuality. The owner of the second 

 nest was a great deal wilder. Even with a 

 blind to shield the camera, we could not 

 get near enough for a picture. 



For a month and a half we cruised and 

 camped along Klamath River, Lower 

 Klamath Lake and White Lake, and then 

 crossed over to Lost River and down into 

 Tule Lake. Out in the lakes, on the float- 

 ing tule-islands, we found large colonies of 

 pelicans, cormorants, grebes, gulls, and 

 other birds. There were hundreds and 

 thousands of nests crowded together in a 

 comparatively small area. A gull or peli- 

 can nests in the open, but a duck will hide 



When we reached Tule Lake, we camped 

 in an old stack-yard at the mouth of Lost 

 River. This was a rendezvous for water- 

 fowl. It was in the midst of the breeding- 

 season, when one might think all the birds 

 were mated or going in pairs, yet here in 

 the midst of the marsh we found ducks in 

 large flocks. Perhaps these were birds that 

 were not breeding. In some instances we 

 saw flocks of males, which perhaps indi- 

 cated that the females were brooding. 



We camped one evening about si.x 

 o'clock at the mouth of Lost River. Soon 

 after the ducks began coming in from the 

 lakes and dropping down where the water 



