tHE WHrrr- WINGED FLEET 
Gull. One of the first nests we noticed had two 
eggs notably smaller than any of the others. We 
thought there might be a pair of Bonaparte’s Gulls 
among the Franklin’s, but to our eyes the excited, 
hovering creatures all looked exactly alike. They 
were plenty near enough for observation, hovering 
fearlessly only a few yards away from us. 
We spent three more days by and among the 
colony, and, despite daily showers, I was able to 
observe and photograph them very satisfactorily. 
At times I took the boat alone, and quietly floated 
in the grass, with nests all around me. I believe I 
could stay there for weeks and enjoy associating 
with those beautiful birds. They were so tame 
they would alight on their nests when I was within 
ten feet of them, and I took various snap-shots with 
the camera held in my hands. Some of them were 
incubating, many others standing on empty nests, 
from which the young had swum off, usually to 
return as soon as confidence was restored. But, as 
nearly as I could decide, the young were not at 
all particular as to just which nest they resorted to. 
Some mothers would have but one chick, others at 
times half a dozen. Often the ‘‘one ewe lamb” 
would swim off to another nest, to be just as hos- 
pitably entertained. In some cases the old bird 
would fly at the departing youngster and make 
vigorous efforts to head it back again, usually with- 
out success. It would seem that the tribe, to a 
considerable extent) “mad all) things “common.” 
Now and then groups of the adults would gather 
in a little open pool of water and swim about, but 
the nests seemed to be the especial places of resort. 
163 
