124 



THB OOIX>OIST 



reeds, everywhere interspersed with 

 Peltandria, Spatterdock, Sagattaria, 

 Pontederia, and other waterplants; 

 sedges of various kinds abound, form- 

 ing in places, large swamps of tus- 

 socks in which the Swamp Sparrow 

 finds a congenial home. 



On the Camden County side of the 

 creek are several large sand banks in 

 which breeds multitudes of Bank 

 Swallows, a few Rough-winged Swal- 

 lows and several pairs of Belted King- 

 fishers; the Bank Swallows are evi- 

 dently decreasing. 



My ornithological researches on the 

 Pensauken Creek extends over seven- 

 teen years, made chiefly during the 

 iDreeding season, as the stream is easi- 

 ly accessible from Philadelphia by 

 boat, train and trolley, and although 

 incomplete aside from their scienti- 

 fic value, they are written so as to at- 

 tract others to this neglected ornitho- 

 logical paradise. 



Species listed without any annota- 

 tions are of doubtful occurrence, but 

 are nevertheless included, for, until 

 the region is thoroughly worked, no- 

 body can tell whether they occur or 

 not. Such species, however, are very 

 few in number. 



1. Podilymbus podiceps. Pied-bill- 

 ed Grebe. 



2. Hydrochelidon surinamensis ni- 

 gra. Black Fern — An adult was seen 

 on July 9, 1913, on the North Branch, 

 which, according to a reliable farmer, 

 had been about for two weeks, togeth- 

 er with another, which, however, we 

 did not observe. This species is of 

 extremely rare occurrence in New 

 Jersey in summer and I was, natural- 

 ly, surprised to see it "at home" on 

 the creek. 



3. Anas rubripes. Black Duck — 

 Rare breeder on the upper branches. 

 Mr. C. J. Hunt and the writer has fre- 

 quently seen it and farmers and fish- 

 ermen report it of annual occurrence. 



4. Anas platirhynchos. Mallard. 



5. Nettion carolinensis. Green-wing- 

 ed Teal — A bunch of five were seen 

 on July 8, 1913, on the North Branch 

 and constituted my only summer rec- 

 ord and I was as astonished to see 

 other species not supposed to occur 

 in South Jersey in summer. 



6. Aix spousa. Wood Duck — Rare 

 breeder. A pair was reported to have 

 bred near Parry, Burlington County, 

 on the North Branch, in a woods, in 

 the Spring of 1897. The nest was in 

 an old partially-torn out Flicker's 

 hole about thirty feet up in a dead 

 tree and. the young were eight or nine 

 in number. I have rarely seen the 

 bird on the creek in summer. 



7. Botansus lentiginous. Bittern — 

 Probably not a rare breeder. Mr. C. 

 J. Hunt saw one on May 30, 1907, and 

 1 have seen it twice in summer, Aug- 

 ust 1, 1912, and July 7, 1913. I also 

 observed one as early as March 30, 

 1902, near the mouth of the creek, 

 which was an unusually early migrant. 



8. Ixobrychus exilis. Least Bit- 

 tern — Common. I have a set of five 

 eggs in my collection which I collect- 

 ed on June 8, 1902, at West Palmyra. 



9. Ardea herodias. Great Blue 

 Heron — Occurs all summer, but does 

 not breed, these birds being feeding 

 individuals from heronries over thirty 

 miles away. 



10. Herodias egretta. Egret — A 

 not rare southern wanderer, occurring 

 frequently in July and August, and 

 becoming less common annually. I 

 saw one August 11, 1913, near the 

 mouth of the creek and my brother 

 George observed one as late as Sep- 

 tember 1, 1912, on the North Branch. 



11. Egretta candissimia. Snowy 

 Egret — Formerly a common wanderer 

 from the South in July and August, 

 but does not occur any more. I saw 

 one near the mouth of the creek on 

 the river flats on July 16, 1904, an 

 adult male with recurved plumes (c-f 

 Auk, 1907. p. 436). 



