306 BowDiSH, Bird Photographing in the Carolinas. [july 



thickly through the bushes at a height varying from two to fifteen feet 

 The ground under the nests was well above tide and perfectly dry. 

 We estimated the colony to consist of about 300 pairs of Louisiana 

 Herons, 200 pairs of Green Herons, 100 pairs of Little Blue Herons, 

 25 pairs of Black-crowned Night Herons, and possibly 50 pairs of 

 Snowy Herons, and the nests of a fairly numerous colony of Boat- 

 tailed Grackles Avere scattered among the heron nests, generally 

 placed higher and more in the slender tips of the branches. Only 

 one photograph (an unsatisfactory one) of one of these birds was se- 

 cured. Some of the young herons had left the nests and large droves 

 of them were scrambling through the tops of the bushes. A large 

 proportion of the nests held young in varying stages of development. 

 A fair number of nests still held eggs, but they were mostly well along 

 in incubation. Plumers had shot in this colony about three weeks be- 

 fore our visit, and we found two piles of the remains of Snowy Herons, 

 eight in each, from which the plumes had been torn. Notwithstand- 

 ing this the herons were all surprisingly fearless and unsuspicious. 

 Most of the young of the grackle colony were out of the nest and well 

 developed; some nests still contained young, and in two or three of 

 these nests were one or two eggs, and one nest contained three fresh 

 eggs. 



We returned to Charleston that evening, stopping for a few min- 

 utes at Morris Island where there was a breeding colony of some 

 twenty-five pairs of Least Terns and a few Willets and Wilson's 

 Plovers. The next day, June 11, was spent at the Secessionville 

 rookery in a largely fruitless effort to secure photographs. During 

 a considerable portion of this time Mr. Abbott remained on Morris 

 Island, securing some very good photographs of Least Terns about 

 their eggs. We were caught on the rookery island by low tide and 

 with great difficulty waded the "soap flats" to the row boat that 

 was to take us back to the 'Ethel', being obliged to leave part of 

 our outfit and return for it about one o'clock A. M. The herons 

 became especially active about dusk when many returned with food 

 for the young. Some few remained active during the night but ap- 

 parently the majority went to roost. Insufficient time and an error 

 of judgment resulted in our failing to get practically any heron 

 photographs of value. 



The next day, June 12, we started on the 'Ethel' for Bulls Bay^ 



