Massachusetts Audubon Society 11 



BIRD LIFE ON ALBERT LEA LAKE 



By Dr. J. R. Nannestad 



(Reprinted from the Official Bulletin of the Minnesota Game and Fish 



Department) 



Birds are learning to read. It's a fact. 



For the first time within the memory of game birds this notice was stuck 

 on the shores of Lower Lake: "Game refuge. No hunting allowed." The 

 birds read it and chuckled. For the first time in their life they could rest in 

 peace. 



No one can tell me that ducks cannot read. If you do not believe it just 

 take your car and drive slowly along the banks of Lower Lake. There is a 

 bird life the equal of which no one can remember unless we go back to the 

 pioneer days of the state. 



Tourists following the Jefferson Highway stop their cars and get out in 

 the road to look at the beautiful sight of thousands of birds peacefully 

 swimming about on the lake. 



Many of the tourists get the cameras out and take a shot at the birds 

 — the onlv shot which the state allows anybody to take at them. 



There is no bag limit. You can shoot as many as you wish. The more 

 the merrier. And the beauty of it is that the next fellow can shoot the same 

 birds. No one can hog the game. 



The only trouble is that some tourists get so excited over the beautiful 

 sight that they hog the road. Time and time again the road is blocked by 

 sightseers. 



There is quite a variety of ducks which have taken up their homestead 

 on the Lower Lake this year. And they are a constant delight to those who 

 are able to tell them apart. 



There are Mallards, Widgeons, Teal, Gulls, Coots, Blue Bills, Wood 

 Ducks, Snipes and others. So far I have not seen any geese. 



The geese have not yet seen the notices posted along the lake. But they 

 will come in time. They used to be just as thick on our lakes as the ducks. 

 In olden times the farmers used to take wild goose eggs and hatch them on 

 the farm. That was before the hunter had driven them out of the country. 



Neither have I seen any swans. They too may come here in course of, 

 time. One flock of geese was seen to light on Bear Lake this year. They 

 received a volley of shots as a welcome. They lit in the wrong lake. Nat- 

 urally they did not stay. 



The Lower Lake is an immense success as a game refuge. It is a success 

 to such an extent that the birds have to be fed by man. There is no fund 

 for this purpose but screenings and corn have been donated by Speltz Bros., 

 Bungarden & Donovan and the Albert Lea Mills — not to forget our faithful 

 game warden, Mr. Turnbull. A number of local landowners too are feeding 

 the birds. 



The game refuge is a success even from the hunter's standpoint. If it 

 were not for the Lower Lake there would be no ducks to shoot on the other 

 lakes in the county. The birds fly over from Albert Lea Lake to other 

 lakes. These are the birds who have not yet learned to read. They will 

 learn. 



