The OoLOGiST. 



VOL. XII. NO. 1. 



ALBION, N. Y., JAN., 1895. 



Whole No. Ill 



A Rough Tim3 Collecting at Shoal Lake, 

 Manitoba. 



Shoul Lake (.-ontains .several islands 

 on one of which a colony of White 

 Pelican.^^ formerly nested in gieat num- 

 bers. Mr. R. Hunter on the 1st of June 

 1878 counted six hnn fired eggs on a 

 small island of about half an ^cre in ex- 

 tent,* but since that time their numbers 

 has considei'abl3' diminished. 



The second -week in June last .sum- 

 mer Mr. Edward Arnold, mvself and 

 two as.->istauts spent tire days collect- 

 ing at Shoal Lake and although we vis- 

 ited several islands, we did not fall in 

 with the colony of White Pelicans. As 

 Mr. Arnoldls time was limited we re- 

 turned to Reaburn and he went west- 

 ward to (iuappelle to see his brother 

 whom he had not met for twenty years, 

 while I went north to Lake Mauiioba. 

 After spending a week collecting at 

 Long Lftke ami Lake Manitoba, I made 

 up my mind to re! urn to Shoal Lake, as 

 it had proved to be a splendid collect- 

 ing ground, for we had taken a fine ser- 

 ies of eggs of American Bittern, Hol- 

 bo'll's. Horned and P^ared Grebe, Fors- 

 ter's Tern, Double-crested Cormorant 

 and sevei'al species of Duck's eggs. 



So on June ITth I hired a young 

 farmer and his buckboard and taking 

 my canvas boat, gun, camera and prov- 

 isions for three days, we drove twenty- 

 eight miles norlhw.-ird reaching wood- 

 lands in the evening, and put up at the 

 farm house for the night, and next 

 morning we arose early and proceeded 

 three miles further when the lake ap- 

 jieared glistening in the morning sun. 

 We drove to a point on the east side of 

 the lake near which we had been 

 camped on our previous visit. OfT this 

 peninsula is a rocky island, separated 



♦ Thomp.son's Birds of M.initoba. 



from the point by a shallow channel of 

 water. We waded across to the island 

 and found that the great wind storm of 

 June 12th had caused the water to wash 

 over a portion of the island dei?trojing 

 hundreds of eggs of the Terns which 

 Mr. Arnold and myself had found nest- 

 ing in vast numbers on our visit ten 

 days previous. The colony of Ring- 

 billed Gulls had also forsaken their 

 nests owing to the waves having played 

 sad havoc with their nests and eggs and 

 broken eggs of Terns, Gulls and Ducks 

 were scattered between'the rocks. On 

 the highest part of the island many 

 beautiful young Terns in downy plu- 

 mage were observed and I also flushed a 

 Spotted Sandpiper off its nest contain- 

 ing four extra well marked eggs. 



After taking a photograph of the is- 

 land we waded back to the point and 

 while my man uuhitche.l his horse so 

 it could browse, I examined the tall 

 grass and shrubs on the peninsulas, 

 thinking it was a likely place to find a 

 Duck's nest, I had not gone far before a 

 Gadwall flushed up right in front of 

 my feet and there w^as its beautiful nes t 

 of down containing ten eggs, these I 

 took and had not proceeded twenty 

 yards or so before another Gadwall 

 arose in front of me, and this nest con- 

 tained six fresh eggs. 1 calleil my man, 

 to come and help to look for Ducks 

 nests and we paced over every part of 

 this small elevated peninsula, flushing. 

 Ducks up every few minutes, and the 

 excitement was intense for in less than 

 an hour we had .several sets each of 

 Gadwall, Baldpate, Mallard, Shoveller 

 and Pintail, and I was also fortunate in 

 flushing a Wilson's Phalarope oil' i ts. 

 nest and four heavily spotted eggs. 



Having examined the point thorough- 

 ly and photographed a beautiful nest of 

 the (iadwall, containing ten eggs, built 



