62 Bird-Nesting 



Behind us was a small pond, surrounded with rushes, it was 

 separated from the lake by a ridge of sand, and this ridge ap- 

 peared to be a place where the ducks, geese and gulls came to 

 plume their feathers, as the sand was covered with feathers and 

 droppings of birds, reminding one of a barn yard. 



On a sand bar were a number of herring and Bonaparte's 

 gulls, so we directed our steps there and found a number of 

 nests of both species. The nests were simply hollows in the 

 sand, lined with grass, and usually contained three eggs, some 

 nests only contained two eggs. The herring gull's eggs vary 

 in ground-colour and markings. Some have a deep yellowish 

 buff ground, others are pale greenish brown. They are heavily 

 spotted with brown of various shades, and have shell markings 

 of purplish grey, and average 2.85x2.00. 



The eggs of Bonaparte's gulls are similar to those of Frank- 

 lin's gull, but are somewhat smaller, and not usually so dark 

 in colour. They vary, both in ground colour and markings, 

 Some are yellowish buff, others greenish or olive, others pale 

 brown, spotted with dark brown and dark grey, average 2.00x 

 1.35. We collected as many clutches as we could conveniently 

 carry, and blew them on the spot, to prevent them getting broken 

 by knocking against each other. We shot a fine adult Bonaparte's 

 gull, and then proceeded round the north end of the lake. 

 Here the banks of the lake were from twenty to thirty feet 

 high, and were overgrown with bushes. The banks were 

 honey-combed with gopher holes, and a few larger holes were 

 no doubt the homes of the badger. Rose bushes were in full 

 bloom, sending forth a sweet fragrance, and cacti plants were 

 growing plentifully on these banks. We were scrambling up 

 these slopes, when we flushed a small duck out of a gopher 

 hole. It flew into the lake and was soon joined by another 

 small duck. W T ith the aid of our field glass, we saw they were 

 a pair of buffle-headed ducks, so we scrambled up to the top 

 of the bank to try and find its nest. There were several holes, 

 or rather burrows, in the bank, and we could not tell which 

 one the bird flew from. I wanted John to put his hand into 

 the burrows to see if he could find the nest, but he replied, 



