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THE OOLOGIST 



KENTUCKY 



The Kentucky Ornithological So- 

 ciety was organized in Louisville, 

 Ky., April 19th, 1923, with the follow- 

 ing officers. 



Pres., Dr. L. Otley Pindar, Ver- 

 sailles, Ky. 



Vice-Pres., Brasher C. Bacon, Madi- 

 sonville. Sec. 



Treas., Prof. Gordon Wilson, of 

 Bowling Green. 



Its object being the study and pro- 

 tection of the bird life of the state. 



The next meeting will probably be 

 held in Louisville at the same time 

 as the regular meeting of the Ken- 

 tucky Educational Association. 



HARD LUCK 



Much in The Oologist of late of 

 good luck on field trips — why not a 

 hard luck story now and then? 



Here I sit in a sunny valley at 9000 

 feet elevation and watch the hills 

 around the town, knowing that a hun- 

 dred nests of Rocky Mountain Jay are 

 in sight. I can see with my glasses 

 two Eagle nests and can limit to a 

 few hundred yards two Great-horned 

 and nests. On the slope of Mt. Ken- 

 dal I have seen a Rough-leg light in 

 the same place a dozen times. 



Why the hard luck? Those who live 

 in the mountains know. Snow is any- 

 where from 3 to 30 feet deep and noth- 

 ing but snow shoes would get a man 

 across the first drift. 1 have the 

 snow shoes but the hills are steep 

 hereabouts and make any man grunt 

 in summer when the footing is its best 

 with no open ground, snow storms 

 any day on two minutes notice and 

 real danged of snow slides if one ven- 

 tures out of the pines. I wish I were 

 down again in Illinois whe^-e the 

 woods and marshes are clear. 



J. K. Shallenberger, 

 Sllverton, Colorado. 



RAMBLING IN NORTH DAKOTA 



Yesterday 1 took a ramble of some 

 ten miles through the deep wooded 

 coulees along the breaks of the Des 

 Lacs River in search of birds and pos- 

 sible nests. The season is rather 

 backward this year and not many mi- 

 grants have arrived. The Meadow- 

 lark, Robin, Killdeer and Song Spar- 

 row are the most numerous of the 

 spring arrivals. I also saw a few 

 Northern Flickers, Slate-colored Jun- 

 cos and several pairs of Marsh Hawks. 



None of the larger Hawks appear 

 to be here yet although the timbered 

 coulees afford most excellent nesting 

 places. 1 saw a single Richardson's 

 Merlin. The Ducks are paired and 

 seeking the small pot holes. Sevehil 

 pairs of Mallards and Pintails were 

 flushed. 



Crows are very much in evidence 

 and are starting their housekeeping 

 arrangement and the Magpies are like 

 wise busy. I found several of their 

 nests that were completed and lined 

 ready to receive the eggs but none 

 had been laid as yet although there 

 were several nests high in slender 

 tree from which a bird emerged as I 

 approached and these might have con- 

 tained eggs but they were far beyond 

 the reach of a two hundred pound 

 man. 



There are hundreds of Sharp-<^ailed 

 Grouse along the coulees and the edge 

 of the fields and with a favorable sea 

 son for nesting they should increase 

 greatly this year. 



This will be my first season in this 

 locality but it should prove to be a 

 wonderful place for a bird student and 

 oologist as the conditions are ideal for 

 all kinds of bird life. 



A. S. Peters, 

 Donnybrook, North Dakota. 



