THE OOLOGIST. 



6 



found in a compai'atively limited area. 



I used to go out for a walk every day 

 after office houi's, and by simply 

 keeping to the river I could watch close- 

 ly every nest within a distance of live 

 or six miles. Fifty miles north of this 

 place the lack of suitable nesting 

 places forces the Hawks to build on 

 large boulders which project from the 

 sides of gullies and ravines, while one 

 hundred miles north where a kind of low 

 shrub is abundant, I observed several 

 nests si.x or eight feet from the ground. • 



Another noticeable feature of this 

 district is the great number of Sparrow 

 Hawks that build here, nearly every 

 tree of any size had a pair occupying it, 

 especially further up the river, I was 

 however too early for eggs, as they do 

 not begin nesting until June. I am 

 (juite safe in saying that fifty pairs nest- 

 ed along this river within a distance of 

 a few miles. I took eight clutches quite 

 near the town between June 14th 

 and July 19th, the heights ranged from 



II to 20 feet, 



No water birds or waders are found 

 here as there are no pools or still water 

 of any kind, nothing but the swift flow- 

 ing river of ice water. Further north 

 when the snow melts it forms innumer- 

 able pools and lakes, and these sloughs 

 are the summer home of numberless 

 Grebes, Loons, Ducks, Terns, etc. The 

 last week in May I drove over about 

 two hundred miles of this country and 

 was astonished to see so many pools of 

 water, I was told however that a number 

 of the smaller ones dry up in the course of 

 the summer. Several of the larger ones 

 were simply covered with water-fowl 

 while large numl)ers of Terns were Hy- 

 ing about overhead, but as the migra- 

 tions were hardly over I think that the}' 

 would sprea() out more for the breeding 

 season. I had never seen a Tern before 

 and was anxious to know their name 

 when I first saw them, the natives called 

 them swallows, so that I was no wiser 

 until 1 saw two stufi'ed when I fouml 



out what they were. No Crows are 

 found in this neighborhood so I con- 

 cluded that all the ne.sts here have been 

 built by the Hawks themselves. Four 

 new ones were built this year; I not- 

 iced that it took fully two weeks to com- 

 plete a nest, some of the older nests 

 are of a great size and it would be im- 

 possible to say how long ago they were 

 built. 



Rough-legged Buzzards were very plen- 

 tiful this spring,these and Swaiuson'sare 

 the only kinds found just here. A 

 Western Red-tail was brought to me 

 which was shot about eight miles south, 

 where I was told they were numerous, 

 they are plentiful also further north, 

 but I have not observed them in this 

 locality. The Rough-legged -Buzzards 

 are very shy and I noticed that after 

 taking their eggs the birds seemed to 

 desert the place altogether. I have not 

 seen one now for four months, the case 

 was exactly the reverse with Swainson's 

 which seemed to come in and till up 

 the space left by the Rough-legs, after 

 having once loacated a claim it seemed 

 impossible to drive them away. I took 

 thi'ee clutches this season in the same 

 place, two from the same nest and the 

 third from a nest built close by. All 

 undoubtedly laid by the same bird. 



Onl}' one pair of Am. Rough-legged 

 Buzzards built here this year, the nest 

 was built on an island in the river, it 

 was placed on a limb eight feet from 

 the bank and thirty nine feet from the 

 ground; composed of sticks lined with 

 small pieces of bark and tufts of grass, 

 built by the birds themselves from a very 

 small foundation. It was by far the 

 deepest and most compactly built nest 

 1 have ever examined, being more on the 

 plan of a Crow's nest only three times as 

 large. On April 30, I crossed the river 

 on the ice and climbed to this nest but 

 it was not quite finished so I left it. On 

 May 9th just after the ice went out I 

 waded over, this time I was more suc- 

 cessful as the female, which was veiy 



