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Tti^ OOLOGIST 



alists. Here the Lepidopterist comes 

 for several species of butterflies, said 

 to be found nowhere else. Here the 

 botanist replenishes his herbarium 

 with specimens of the rare Sedum 

 rhodiola, indiginous to Greenland, and 

 only of very local occurrence in the 

 United States. Here, also, that splen- 

 did fern, known as the Ostrich fern, 

 ( Stjruthiopteris germanica) develops 

 its full proportions. 



To an Ornithologist the locality is 

 not likely to be forgotten as the home 

 of a famous Raptor, the daring and 

 merciless Duck Hawk (Falco Pere- 

 grinus anatum.) 



Our first trip on May 7th was re- 

 warded by seeing one of these birds 

 start out on an expedition from the 

 cliff, evidently in search of food. Its 

 deep salmon breast and enormous tal- 

 ons, together with its swift and pow- 

 erful flight, made it a conspicuous den- 

 izen of the air. We learned that the 

 week before a party from the Academy 

 of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia, 

 had visited the cliff, and descending 

 from above with ropes had secured a 

 nest containing two eggs. It was 

 hardly to be expected, then, that we 

 would be thus rewarded. 



But on May 14th we returned to the 

 Narrows and collected the Sedum in 

 full bloom. We also located a nest of 

 Oven Birds and secured a set of 

 Cooper's Hawk in the ravine below, 

 and then ascended the cliff from its 

 Southern slope. From the summit the 

 view was inspiring. Far below flow- 

 ed the mighty Delaware dividing two 

 states by the proud curves of its 

 course, and beyond the river, stretch- 

 ing far to the East, were spread cut 

 the rich and fertile plains of New Jer- 

 sey. The air was fragrant with the 

 pervasive perfume of the crab apple, 

 the mountains round about were robed 

 in the freshest of Springtime greens, 

 the birds, ecstatic with song, were 



voicing the best optimism of Nature 

 and prophesying the song of the reaper 

 in harvest. It was worth a tramp of 

 twenty miles just to be thus inspirited. 



Climbing cautiously down the 

 treacherous ledges of that dizzy 

 height my companion suddenly per- 

 ceived below him, on a very narrow 

 shelf of rock, the nest of a Peregrine 

 F'alcon. There was the bird also! 

 With much excitement he looked for 

 some way to reach that point of pe- 

 culiar interest. Thinking he had found 

 an easy descent between two boulders 

 he let himself down on his elbows pre- 

 pared to drop, when to his horror he 

 saw that the ledge at that point was 

 chopped off, and furnished no safe 

 fall. But hanging thus he could not 

 get back, his strength would not hold 

 out until help could reach him, he 

 must drop, but should he miss that 

 edge of rock it was a straight fall — 

 300 feet and more! There was an 

 agonizing moment of indecision, then 

 shutting his eyes and stiffening his 

 legs, he let go, and landing true, fell 

 trembling against the face of the cliff. 



Now the Hawk, startled by this un- 

 requested intrusion, and relishing 

 nothing in the way of human compan- 

 ionship, prepared to resent the situa- 

 tion and defend her nest. It contained 

 four beautifully-marked and freshly- 

 laid eggs — treasures well worth de- 

 fending. The male answered at once 

 the shrill summons of his mate, and 

 both birds made swift and repeated 

 dashes at the unapologetic ornitholo- 

 gist, though not quite daring to strike 

 him, and continued to express with 

 their incessant screaming their un- 

 tempered indignation. Securing his 

 trophies in his handkerchief which he 

 carried in his teeth, my friend prepar- 

 ed to regain the brow of the cliff 

 above. Growing in a crevice of the 

 rock there was a small sapling which 

 held his weight, and by adroit climb- 



