84 HoNYWiLL, Birds of Cass and Crow Wing Counties, Minn. (.Jan. 



would dart across the water, their white under parts flashing as 

 they wheeled and turned. Nearer at hand two young Hooded 

 Mergansers were feeding while overhead an occasional Swallow 

 circled to and fro. As a finishing touch to this scene of wild beauty, 

 teeming with bird life and activity, two deer appeared on the oppo- 

 site shore. They stood with heads erect for several moments, in- 

 tently listening, and then apparently satisfied that all was safe 

 they commenced to slowly feed along the shore until something 

 startled them and they dashed from sight. 



Among the apparent changes which have taken place during the 

 past two years should be mentioned a decrease in the number of 

 Loons observed. This may possibly be due to the water level in 

 the various lakes, particularly the smaller lakes and ponds, which 

 in some cases are nearly dry. This undoubtedly has had some 

 effect on the breeding of this bird but perhaps only locally. The 

 Black Tern seems to be increasing largely in numbers each year 

 while just the reverse is true in the case of the Great Blue Heron. 

 This bird, formerly quite common, has decreased in numbers to 

 such an extent that it was observed but once during the season of 

 1912. The Mallard is quite common for a region containing no 

 wild rice. On August 22 a flock of over 250 birds was observed 

 at Stake Lake. The Ruffed Grouse appears to be holding its own 

 in numbers if indeed it is not increasing slightly while the Prairie 

 Chicken is spreading its range rapidly with the increase of culti- 

 vated ground. The hawks are difficult of identification and there 

 are undoubtedly others than those included in my first list which 

 frequent this region. The Baltimore Oriole, which was with some 

 uncertainty included in the previous list, has since been observed 

 on several occasions in the vicinity of the camp. Among the 

 Warblers there are undoubtedly several species which should be 

 included in the list but their identification is uncertain. The fall 

 migrants slip by quietly and in garbs confusingly similar which 

 makes the work of adding to a local list doubly hard to a person 

 denied the pleasure of witnessing the spring migration in the same 

 region. 



In the following list are included those species not mentioned 

 in the previous list. 



