78 



THE OOLOGIST 



gone over, but without finding the 

 slightest sign of the gulls or their 

 nests. 



After eating my lunch I walked back 

 to the boat intending to row up a few^ 

 hundred feet and try the country to 

 the south of the river, but had no soon- 

 er pushed off than a gull sw^ept by, 

 within a few yards of the boat, and to 

 my great joy I noticed that it was 



could be reached, as they were plac- 

 ed in the very center of a soft treach- 

 erous mire, covered with a species 

 of tall growing reed, reaching to a 

 height of six or seven feet. The nests 

 were in all stages of construction, 

 but none of them contained eggs. 



Fiom here I circled the mire, beach- 

 ing the boat on the opposite side and 

 started to search the dry land in back 



No. 45 Valley of the River Rhone near Vevey, Switzerland. 

 Photo by Paul G. Howes. 



tarrying a large bunch of grass in 

 Its mandibles. The south side of the 

 Tiver was soon forgotten as the bird 

 flew directly in the opposite direction, 

 • coming down into a swampy, reed-cov- 

 lered portion of the valley about three- 

 quarters of a mile beyond where the 

 morning's search had ceased. On 

 reaching the spot I found that there 

 were ten nests, but not one of them 



of the swamp. Half an hour's work 

 revealed one nest, a large affair of 

 dead reeds and grasses apparently just 

 ready for the reception of the eggs. 

 It was placed on a slight mound separ- 

 ated from the mire by the remains of 

 an old stone wall and within ten feet 

 of a frequently used path to Villen- 

 euve. Knowing that I would not be 

 able to visit the place again as I 



