120 



ORNITHOLOGIST 



[Vol. 13-No. 8 



the country near the springs as being favorable 

 places for eagles, and that it used to be a great 

 place for California Vultures; also that they 

 used to breed a few miles back in the heavy red- 

 woods, and much other information about this 

 locality. 



I spent the best part of two days in this sec- 

 tion and never saw either an eagle or a Califor- 

 nia Vulture, but did tiiiil the asphaltum springs 

 and saw them sending out their sticky tar all 

 over the face of the hill. I saw some fossil 

 shells in a streak of gravel that were very per- 

 fect, and a little farther on a cow that had got 

 in a tar hole and was apparently becoming fos- 

 silized, as nothing could get to her; even the 

 Coyotes and Turkey liuzzards had to stand 

 back and look on. 



Crossing the Pajaro river I starti'd for Wat- 

 sonville and aliout three o'clock found a new 

 eagle's nest in a big red-wood. 1 could see the 

 old bird on the nest, as the tree was on the side 

 of a gulch. I went down in the gulch to the 

 bottom of the tree and there it stood, live feet 

 in diameter and not a limb for thirty feet up. 

 I had a mind to give it up as the nest was high 

 (04 feet) and the limbs large. On the lower side 

 of the tree was another red-wood that stood 

 close to this one and whose branches lapped 

 across over on to the limbs of the big red- 

 wood. 



I cut some pieces o£ wood, and having cut a 

 notch in each tree I placed one of my pieces of 

 stick and hammered one end down till it was 

 solid. Id this way I made a ladder between the 

 two trees and got up quite a distance, and then 

 by using a tree ladder which I hooked ovei- the 

 second liinl) of the small tree, 1 had things 

 ready for a good start in the morning. I slept 

 near the tree and t!ie first thing I heard in the 

 morning was the old eagle on her nest calling 

 to her mate. 



It was very foggy and as I was in a hurry 

 to get the eggs, I went to my last night's work 

 and started up the tree. I climbed up within 

 four feet of the old bird and could have caught 

 her by the tail with ease, and would have done 

 so if the eggs woiUd only have kept whole dur- 

 ing the performance, so I spoke to her kindly 

 and said "old eagle, good morning.'' Hho, 

 turned her head, rose up, took one step for- 

 ward, spread her wings and sailed away. It 

 added one more pleasure to my life to see this 

 sight. There was no hurry, no fear, nothing 

 but dignity. It said, I ouly leave because I am 

 the weaker, while you are a coward to take ad- 

 vantage of me. 



I did feel sorry for the old bird, but I bad 



come all the way from the city for what she 

 owned and so I had to rob her. 



The eggs, two in number, were deeply marked. 

 This nest was made of large sticks and lined 

 with red-wood twigs and straw stubble. It was 

 very large.and ninety-four feet from the ground. 

 .\s it had begun to rain I hurried down and 

 started for shelter but could find none that 

 would erjable me to keep dry during the night, 

 so I went about two miles to a farm house 

 where I got dried out. It was a pleasure to sit 

 by a good fire in the best of company after be- 

 ing out in a heavy rain nearlj' all day. 



I started the next day for the eagle cliff where 

 I took a set of eggs last year. I catnped that 

 night in a cave high up on a bill in a big rock. 

 The next day I climbed up to the old nest and 

 found two eggs lightly marked. (The set I 

 took from this nest last year were heavily 

 marked). I saw no eagles near this nest and 

 only climbed up to see how it looked, so I was 

 somewhat surprised to see two eggs. 



I went to Watsonville and from there to a 

 nest froui which I took a set of eggs last year. 

 I found it had been fixed up but was forsaken. 

 1 then started for Tres Pinos, and the first 

 night got another s<iaking which gave me a 

 hard cold. 



On my second day out from Watsonville I 

 found another nest. I had spread my blanket 

 out to dry on a fence and was enjoying uiy cold 

 and the sun when an eagle flew by me, and af- 

 ter going nearly half a mile flew into a tree. 



I waited for her to fly out, and after thinking 

 she might have a nest in that tree and not see- 

 ing her get out, I picked up my glass and gun 

 and went to investigate. On getting close to 

 the tree I discovered the nest and presently the 

 bird flew ott'. Tliis nest was in a white oak 

 tree up thirty-seven and a half feet and con- 

 tained three eggs not heavily marked. 



This nest was lined with stubble and moss 

 and was apparently an old one that had been 

 used sevei-al seasons. The three eggs are more 

 elongated than usually is the case with eagle's 

 eggs. 



The eagle that laid these eggs had a beautiful 

 ring tail. I returned to my blankets and 

 camped that night in a barn. Next day I went 

 to a nest from which I took a set of nearly 

 white eggs last year and found the nest unused. 



Crossing the San Benito river I traveled to a 

 nest from which I took the first set of eagle's 

 eggs I ever collected and found it torn down. 



Going to Tres Pinos I found the town boom- 

 ing. Setting out early I went up the Tres Pinos 

 river to a nest from which I took a set of eggs 



