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THE OOLOGIST 



over with head and body nearly ttat 

 on the ground, and remainins thui> 

 with its mate, quite motionless, for ei 

 least half a minute while I was watch- 

 ing in amazement, felt inclined to 

 laugh at one moment at the comica' 

 attitude of the gander and cry tho 

 next, because my camera had bee i 

 left behind at our camp about a m:lo 

 away! 



The birds eventually flew away, and 

 it was then quite easy to see that the 

 nest contained 5 eggs. 



Next day armed with camera I 

 again approached the nest, and at 

 once saw that the two birds were 

 present. As bad luck would have it, 

 there was a strong wind blowing up 

 the gorge and the air was consequent- 

 ly filled with spray from the water- 

 fall; while to add to my photographic 

 difficulties, the sun was in an un- 

 favorable position, and it was quite 

 impossible to see the nest in the view 

 finder of my kodak. The birds this 

 time appeared much more restless 

 while the gander refused to lie down 

 a.s before, and the hen at once stood 

 up over her eggs. All I could do was 

 to set my camera at 50 foot focus, 

 and point the lens in about what I 

 thought to be the right direction. 



The result is as given with this 

 article, and is anything but as suc- 

 cessful as could be wished. The nest 

 was eventually reached, by means of 

 a doubled 1-inch Alpine line held by 

 my two companions and down which 

 I slid to the nest terrace. It was 

 made of the usual mass of Goose 

 feathers and down, placed in a cir- 

 cular hollow in the moss, and was 

 within 2 feet of the vertical drop to 

 the boiling river below into which, I 

 imagine, a young Goose would have 

 no serious difficulty in diving, in or- 

 der to be swept to more congenial 

 surroundings, shortly after emerging 

 from its eggs. 



The photo of another Pink-footed 

 Goose's nest containing two eggs was 

 taken by Mr. B. W. Tucker and was 

 situated among loose rocks and stones 

 half-way down the side of the same 

 gorge in which I photographed the 

 pair at their nest with five eggs. It 

 was on the opposite side of the gorge 

 to the later nest and was reached 

 without the aid of a rope. 



SPRING 



I have been very lax this spring 

 but have noted the following birds. 

 Spring has been backward and cold. 

 April 6th, first Robin; April 10th, 

 first Bluebird, Grackle and Bartram- 

 ian Sandpiper. April 14th I took a 

 trip to a tamarack . swamp about 

 eight miles from here, sunny in 

 morning, and I walked back through 

 a wet marshy snow storm. Saw First 

 Prairie Hens in Severn years, heard 

 one or two calling. First Jack Snipe, 

 Redtail, nest and two plain eggs in 

 elegant bower nest in tamarack tree. 

 First Flicker, one or two Prairie Song 

 Sparrow, first Field Sparrow, several 

 flocks of Warblers. I could not see 

 them good, 1 Southern Downy, 15 or 

 20 Fox Sparrows, Blue Jays, Robins, 

 Bluebirds, White-breasted Nut Hatch, 

 Crow, first Red-winged Blackbird, 

 several Bronze Grackles and Kill- 

 deers, first European Meadowlark, 4 

 or 5. Thought once I heard a West- 

 ern Meadowlark. April 16, first 

 Mourning Dove; April 21st, Bartram- 

 ian Sandpiper; April 25th, Hairy 

 Woodpecker been here all winter. 

 April 27th walked out north by river, 

 noted Bartramian Sandpiper, five or 

 six Mourning Dove, first American 

 Bittern, Jack Snipe, Fox Sparrows, 

 first White-crowned Sparrows, prob- 

 ably 5 or 8, first Brown Thrashers, 

 Robins, Blue Jays, Bluebirds, Crows, 

 first Kingfishers. Meadow Larks, 

 Grackle, Flickers; heard either a 



