Craigmile — On August at Lake Tahoe. 11 



This list contains no doubtful records, plenty of which I have. 

 No special efforts have been expended upon the ducks, waders and 

 game birds, hence all of my records within these groups have come 

 in the course of my other bird studies. Attention to these groups 

 would almost certainly considerably increase the list of species. 



AUGUST AT LAKE TAHOE. 



BY ESTHER CRAIGMILE. 



Lake Tahoe is situated in the obtuse angle which forms 

 the western boundary of Nevada, so it is the property of Cal- 

 ifornia as well. It has an altitude of 6200 feet and is sur- 

 rounded bv mountains. It is twenty-three miles long, thirteen 

 miles wide, and of a great depth. The Nevada side is mostly 

 barren, but the California region is rich in yellow pine, tam- 

 arack, balsam, alder, aspen, and willow. Goldenrod, asters, 

 and sunflowers bloomed almost as profusely as in Illinois in 

 the fall. Manzanita. buckthorn, elder, wild goose-berry, and 

 numerous shrubs unkown to me covered the mountains. Bird 

 life was abundant on land and water. 



The White-headed Woodpecker is said to be a silent bird, 

 but he attracted my attention first by drumiming on a tree 

 trunk ; then he flew, giving a rattling call like the Hairy. He 

 was usually quiet in feeding, but more or less noisy in flight. 



California Poor-will does not believe in corporal punishment, 

 so he omits the first syllable of his song and gives the mid- 

 dle west people a feeling of something iiicomplete. 



The trees were so large that many gleaners could work 

 without molesting each other. A White-headed Woodpecker, 

 two Red-breasted Sapsuckers, and a Slender-billed Nuthatch 

 were seen feeding contentedly on the same tree. It was not 

 uncommon to see three or four Sierra Creepers climbing a 

 tree in regular procession. The last one seemed to find plenty 

 to satisfy his hunger, too. 



One day I saw a creeper and a nuthatch banqueting from 

 the lumber of which the new car shop was constructed. 



Cliff Swallows had hundreds of nests along the high banks 

 of the lake. A few preferred to build under the eaves of the 

 store which was built on the \\'harf. Hummers were omni- 



