186 



THE OOLOGIST. 



Photo by Reinecke. 

 A Near View Almost Fully Grown. 



out that he was totally blind. It was 

 quite an ordeal for the driver, because 

 I had to keep my eyes constantly on 

 him, instead of taking part in the an- 

 imated discussion of my partners. But 

 we finally got there. We put up at the 

 nearest farm house, the men of which 

 acted very nice to us, going with us 

 and carrying part of our heavy cam- 

 era, etc. We had to use rubber hip 

 boots, but all of us, notwithstanding 

 the care we took, several times went 

 down in the water beyond the tops of 

 our boots. Then the constant climb- 



ing over the fallen trees in water- 

 soaked clothes, is more than pleasure. 



The Great Blue Herons arrive from 

 the southern states in the latter part 

 of March and soon look for their old 

 nesting sites, picking out the highest 

 elms or pines. This is shown in my 

 first picture, where a male Heron 

 surveys the surrounding trees from 

 the highest point. 



They invariably return to their for- 

 mer roosts, look them over critically 

 and repair and clean them up for the 

 happy family. In the meantime they 



