THE NATURALIST. I! 
then, keeping the boat’s course 
towards the marsh. 
Yellow-Headed Blackbirds were 
very noisy and quite numerous 
and their nests were every few 
yards, but as they are easily ob- 
tained I left them for some future 
occasion. Several pairs of Scaup 
Ducks are seen breasting the 
waves near the centre of the lake, 
while Black Terns and Franklin’s 
Gulls are everywhere plentifnl, but 
though Iam confident the latter 
breed in the vicinity of Reaburn I 
never found their nests. 
By hard paddling I soon pass 
through a small inlet from the lake, 
the calm waters of the marsh 
which is nowhere more than two 
or three feet deep—covered thickly 
with decayed vegetable matter. 
Making very slow progress 
I find it impossible to return by 
the same way, so taktng my bear- 
ings I begin to look around for 
“oological treasures,” 
Passing a Coot’s nest containing 
g eggs, I observed that the the 
Terns were becoming quite noisy, 
and my attention was attracted by 
the swoops one of them is making 
within a few feet of my head, and 
in a moment I have espied the nest 
which is made of a few pieces of 
marsh grass in the hollow of what 
was evidently a deserted Grebe’s 
nest; it contained 3 eggs, which I 
transfer to my collecting box after 
marking them to distinguish the 
sets. ; 
Many readers have no doubt 
been among the Black Terns and 
are familiar with their habits of 
darting to within a short distance 
of a person’s head, making it 
almost possible to strike them with 
a stick or paddle. 
Other nests were soon found, 
some much more compact than 
others, being made of grass that 
was quite wet, and supported only 
by the decayed vegetable matter 
that floats on the surface. Several 
were made upon which I judged to 
be old Grebe’s nests, others made 
upon heaps of decayed rushes. 
A suspicious looking heap of 
decayed weeds attracted my at- 
tention, I paddle to it and lifting 
the top layer, disclose seven dirty- 
white eggs, some more stained 
than others. While wondering 
what species this might belong to 
I espied the head, neck and partly 
submerged body of the owner, a 
Horned Grebe, a few yards away. 
The eggs were soon placed care- 
fully in my box and_ looking 
around I find I have drifted to 
within a quarter of a mile of the 
railroad track, which I reach 
almost breathless after 20 minutes 
of hard pulling. 
After a short rest I make the 
boat secure and hiding the paddle 
on the prairie above the track, 
start on my four mile tramp to - 
Reaburn, during which time I was 
fortunate enough to secure hand- 
some specimens of Wilson’s Phal- 
arope and Franklin’s Gull. 
I arrived home shortly after dark, 
well pleased with my afternoon’s 
work, which, though hard, 
brought its own reward. 
G. F. Dippig, Toronto, Canada. 
