20 



THB OOLOGIST 



Hawk and Owl Collecting in Cham- 

 paign County, Illinois. 



In the year 1904 I was employed at 

 Philo, Ills., and made the acquaintance 

 of Isaac E. Hess, the Bird Man. See- 

 ing his fine collection so often, im- 

 bued me with a deep interest in a 

 branch of natural history that had al- 

 ways appealed to me. 



I began studying up birds but did 

 not attempt to collect until I had be- 

 come acquainted with birds and their 

 habits long enough to obtain a col- 

 lecting permit. I have had some fine 

 luck since, especially among the "Rap- 

 tores" and as these are the difficult 

 sets to obtain in most any vicinity, I 

 will offer my experiences to the read- 

 ers of THE OOLOGIST. 



The Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo bore- 

 alis) commences to build in the month 

 of February and have the nests ready 

 for eggs by the last of March. Nests 

 are large and bulky and composed of 

 dead grass and cornhusks. They are 

 very shallow when compared with the 

 bulk of the nest? I have, however, 

 seen nests nearly a foot deep. The 

 Red-tail will use the same nest for 

 years if undisturbed and sometimes 

 will any way if not disturbed too 

 often. Each spring the old nest is re- 

 modelled by adding a few sticks and 

 fresh lining. One pair of my Hawks 

 has two nests, — one in a large Syca- 

 more and the other in an Oak. When 

 I take my toll from one nest she re- 

 sorts to the other for her second set 

 which I never disturb but allow her to 

 hatch them. As the Red-tail hatches 

 but one brood in a season, I figure that 

 I do not reduce the supply of Red-tails 

 at all — merely making the appearance 

 of the new family a month later in 

 the season. In addition to not lower 

 ing the supply of Hawks, I have some 

 beautiful sets of Hawk eggs in my cab- 

 inet. Mr. Hess says some of the mark- 

 ings, especially from the older pairs, 



are almost as heavily marked as Vul- 

 ture eggs. The Red-tail will begin lay- 

 ing her second set usually twenty-one 

 days after the first set is taken. I al- 

 ways find them setting steadily by 

 twenty-eight days after losing the first 

 set. 



The nests are placed in the forks 

 of the largest trees to be found in the 

 creek bottoms. 



In 29 sets of eggs I have collected, 

 the nests have ranged from 57 to 102 

 feet from the ground. As I always let 

 the eggs down in a small tin bucket 

 attached to a stout cord the distance 

 is easily determined by tying a knot 

 every 10 feet in the string. The Hawk 

 usually flushes from the nest as I ap- 

 proach, uttering a shrill scream or 

 whistle and flies high in wide circles 

 over the tree I am climbing. I have 

 found a few that would stick to the 

 nest until I rapped with a hatchet. 

 The common set is two or three eggs. 

 Have never taken a set of four, but 

 ten sets were of three, thirteen sets of 

 two eggs each and six sets held a sol- 

 itary egg. A few sets are almost 

 plain white but others range from 

 light markings to those covered heav- 

 ily with spots and blotches. Eggs from 

 the same pairs offer the same type of 

 markings each season and both Mr. 

 Hess and I can usually tell which pair 

 of Hawks layed the eggs, except when 

 we run across a new pair. 



Following are the dates of twenty- 

 nine sets which may help some Hawk 

 seeker to some extent: Set 1-2, Apr. 

 20, 1904; set 1-1, Mar. 29, 1905; set 

 1-3, Mar. 31, 1905; set 1-2, Apr. 20, 

 1905; set 1-2, Apr. 12, 1906; set 1-1, 

 Apr. 15, 1906; set 1-2, Apr. 15, 1906; 

 set 1-2, May 7, 1906; set 1-2, Apr. 1, 

 1907; set 1-3, Apr. 3, 1908; set 1-3, 

 Apr. 4, 1908; set 1-2, Apr. 13, 1908; 

 set 1-2, Apr. 17, 1908 ; set 1-2, Apr. 25, 

 1908; set 1-2, Apr. 2, 1909; set 1-3, 

 Apr. 3, 1909; set 1-3, Apr. 5, 1909; set 



