VO, i909" VI ] Felger, Colorado Water Birds. 273 



instances are overflowed, causing great areas to be flooded, and 

 furnishing thereby most desirable localities in which water-loving 

 species may pause awhile in their journey. On the other hand, a 

 goodly number of the larger streams, like the Arkansas, South 

 Platte, etc., carry water the year around, and receiving the drain- 

 age from the cities along their courses, bear upon their surfaces the 

 cannery and factory waste products, many of which are eagerly 

 sought out by these birds for food. 



The area covered by this article occupies a portion of the Eastern 

 Slope very highly adapted to water-frequenting birds; it contains 

 many artificial lakes of large size, is intersected by many irrigating 

 ditches, contains numerous fields of alfalfa and the various grains, 

 and receives via the Platte River all the refuse products of the 

 factories and canneries of Denver. Its elevation varies from 4000 

 feet to 7000 feet. The hunting and fishing privileges of nearly 

 all the lakes and reservoirs within it are held by gun clubs under 

 leases covering hunting and fishing only. With many of these 

 clubs shooting on the lakes is permitted only during certain days 

 of each week of the hunting season. Whether shooting is permitted 

 on other days of the week, or not, nearly all the clubs are uniform in 

 allowing it on Saturdays and Sundays. As a result, on Saturday 

 afternoons, from the towns within or near the area there is a perfect 

 exodus of hunters to the lakes in their outlying districts. 



Within this area, 18 miles northeast of Denver on the main line 

 of the Chicago, Burlington, and Quincy Railroad, lies the little 

 village of Barr. Beginning perhaps a quarter of a mile southwest 

 of Barr there extends in a northeasterly direction, mostly on the 

 east side of the above named railway, a chain of artificial lakes con- 

 structed for the storage of water for purposes of irrigation. The 

 largest of these, and in fact the feeders of the entire chain, are two 

 lakes known as Barr Lake and Upper Barr Lake, and it is on 

 account of the prominence of these two lakes that I shall speak of 

 this chain as the Barr Lake Chain. 



The contents of this article are based in large part upon a system- 

 atic study in the field of the birds of the Barr Lake Chain covering, 

 with a few interruptions, the period from 1898 to 1909, exclusive 

 of the year 1906. During these eleven years I have made many 

 trips between this field and Denver, on numerous occasions making 



