394 Pangburn, Birds of Pinellas County, Fla. [j^| y 



selves are with a few exceptions only a few hundred yards in width. 

 In some places there are thick groves of good sized palmettos but 

 for the most part the vegetation is thin and scarce. There are a 

 good many very shallow bayous on the inner side of the keys. 



At the center of the Pinellas Peninsula and about two miles from 

 its southern point is Salt Lake. As a matter of fact this lake is 

 fresh in spite of its name. It has an area of perhaps a square mile. 

 At three corners there are good sized marshes of tall grass and cat- 

 tails, and at many places the banks are wet and soggy turf. It is 

 an ideal place for many species of water birds, and hundreds of 

 them are there. Unfortunately there seems to be absolutely no at- 

 tempt made to enforce game laws either State or Federal. I visited 

 Salt Lake many times and on every occasion discovered one or more 

 persons shooting at the wildfowl there. 



The mainland of the county consists almost entirely of pine 

 barrens considerably thinned out for a long distance from the city 

 by real estate developments. Indeed I often found that I could 

 stroll through the heart of some good ornithological hunting ground 

 on the cement sidewalks of some optimistic real estate speculator. 



All around the coast line of the county are numerous bayous, 

 which are usually very shallow and make excellent feeding places 

 for wading birds. 



This list makes no pretense of being more than an outline upon 

 which to start a complete record of the bird life of this interesting 

 region. In the first place it covers only a little over three months, 

 and in addition I was in Florida convalescing from an operation 

 following service in France. During the first part of my stay I 

 was much limited in getting about, and at no time could I take very 

 long walks or cover as much of the country as I should have liked. 



The wealth of bird life, especially of various sorts of water birds, 

 and the ease with which many of them can be observed makes 

 Pinellas County a place of never ending interest to the ornithologist. 

 The perfect climate of the winter heightens the charm. 



1. Colymbus auritus. Horned Grebe. — Rather common during 

 February, but showing great variation as to abundance. On some days 

 forty to sixty could be seen near the docks, while on other days none could 

 be found. Seen only on Tampa and Boca Ceiga bays, never on the Gulf. 

 Some specimens seen on February 18 were almost in full plumage. 



