ORNITHOLOGIST 



[Vol. iS-No. 7 



grass in a littfe hollow close to an irrigating 

 ditch. Gathering them into a collecting box 

 we proceeded to the lake and in a very few 

 minutes had the moorings to the " Sea Gull " 

 cast off and were standing off towards a large 

 slough or swamp that we proposed to explore. 



The day looked windy, and I might ex- 

 plain that the mountain squalls are peculiarly 

 violent here ; but on this day we did not 

 care for the looks of the weather as we were 

 off for specimens. Anchoring off the mouth 

 of the creek that empties into the lake from 

 the swamp, we soon were in the small skiff 

 and pushing up the creek through the tules. 

 Every moment some one would see a Yellow- 

 Headed Blackbird's nest or a Tule Wren's, 

 which we would examine ; but it was unsat- 

 isfactory collecting the latter, as each pair of 

 birds appear to construct at least five decoy 

 nests, and hence it was a long task to get 

 many nests with eggs. Every litde while 

 some other nest was discovered and we found 

 on reaching the yacht that we had a set of 

 10 Mallards, three sets of American Coot, 

 one set of American Bittern, and one set of 

 some kind of (ioose or Swan. The latter 

 eggs were in a large nest floating on the 

 creek, but were spoiled and had evidently 

 been left by the old birds on account of the 

 rising water. 



We next set sail for the opposite shore of 

 die lake, some ten miles distant, where we 

 arri\ed in a short time. Leaving the cap- 

 tain to run the yacht, we boys went ashore 

 and walk for some five miles along in the 

 sage bushes and found in this walk ten sets 

 of Sage Thrasher's eggs. This bird was the 

 commonest of any we observed on the west 

 shore of the lake, and every nest we found 

 w-as built in a greasewood bush about two 

 feet from the ground, and constructed of dry 

 greasewood twigs and lined with bark and 

 sheep wool. The eggs were four and five, 

 but five principally, and were most beauti- 

 ful, being of an irridescent green with brirk- 

 red spots. 



We found a Burrowing Owl's nest and 



hailed the yacht for something to dig it out 

 with, but as a couple pair of oars did not 

 make good spades we ga\e it up as a bad 

 job. Just about this time one of the boys 

 discovered a Blow Snake, which got away, 

 but it seemed to be at least six feet long, and 

 indeed this is not an unusual length for this 

 snake. .About three o'clock the wind, which 

 had been quite strong, began to develop into 

 a little gale and we were obliged to go aboard 

 and get the yacht off the lee shore. We made 

 for Pelican Point, some six miles distant, in 

 hopes of rounding the same and obtaining 

 shelter, but the wind increased so suddenly 

 that by the time we were about five miles it 

 was blowing so that we were obliged to take 

 in even the close-reefed jib sail and anchor. 

 The boys not appreciating supper in the 

 high seas that were running, we all put off 

 for the shore, where they discovered a dug- 

 out in which lived a Danish family. On 

 learning our plight they took us in and were 

 hospitality itself. I do not suppose that 

 many of the readers of the " O. & O." have 

 seen a dug-out, but for solid comfort in a 

 hard storm out on the sage plains or desert 

 I would prefer a good, large, clean dug-out 

 to any camp I know of. 



By the following morning the storm had 

 lifted somewhat and we managed to get our 

 skiff into a large patch of tules and swamp 

 that was near, and here we found many more 

 Yellow Heads and Mudhen's eggs. A Loon 

 was out in the lake, but my rifle either could 

 not go straight or else I could not point it 

 straight, and I only succeeded in frightening 

 it away. About noon we got up a corner of 

 our jib sail and made a run before the wind 

 of ten miles to Springville Lake, where we 

 arrived at one o'clock with two sea-sick boys 

 on board. On entering the gap into the 

 lake we anchored in perfectly calm water and 

 right in the midst of a perfect archipeligo. 

 The little boat was immediately called into 

 service and we began explorations. Almost 

 the first thing that we saw was an island simply 

 covered with Great Blue Herons and we 



