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THE OOLOGIST 



Let us stick to good solid facts, for 

 the average man is willing to do what 

 he can to protect the. birds because of 

 the charm they add to our woods, 

 fields and waterways, and I think that 

 is the best way to present the matter 

 for his consideration, rather than to 

 encourage him to protect them in the 

 expectation that they will benefit him 

 greatly in a financial way. 



If a man tries to protect birds simp- 

 ly as an investment he is very liable 

 to be disappointed at the results ob- 

 tained, and then he either loses inter- 

 est in bird protection or else condemns 

 it as a failure. 



But this same man might become in- 

 terested in natural history if it was 

 brought to his attention in the right 

 way and perhaps would help the good 

 cause of wild life conservation during 

 the remainder of his life, as many 

 others have done and are doing now. 

 Horace O. Green. 



Loon and Red-shouldered Hawk at 

 Mud Pond. 



On April 11th, 1915, shortly after 

 day break I flushed a male Loon 

 (Gavia imber) along the eastern shore 

 of Mud Pond, Passaic County, New 

 Jersey. During the night several 

 flocks of ducks were heard flying and 

 calling over the house from Kampfe's 

 Lake, which lies about a mile to the 

 northwest of Mud Pond. On arising 

 I determined to investigate and at 

 tempt to learn the species of these 

 ducks, if possible, and walked down 

 to the pond while it was still dark 

 On the pond were about fifteen Black 

 Duck (Anas obscura) at this time and 

 while walking along the eastern banks 

 and observing these birds in gyratory 

 flights over the pond and playing in 

 its waters, I descended into a small 

 covex in the rocks and the Loon was 

 there quietly swimming about and I 

 had about five minutes to observe him 



without arousing his suspicions. How- 

 ever, he finally spied me from my 

 lookout and hastily flew off to the 

 southern end of the pond. This is 

 the second specimen of this bird that 

 I have observed on Pompton Lake on 

 April 14, 1912. 



At noon of this day I found at the 

 Pond a completed nest of the Red- 

 shouldered Hawk in a dead maple 

 about forty feet up and the female was 

 setting on same apparently about to 

 deposit the first egg. I climbed up to 

 this nest but the eggs had not yet 

 been deposited. This is the first nest 

 of this species that I have ever locat- 

 ed in New Jersey. 



A Three-cornered Battle. 



On the morning of April 10th in a 

 small swamp in Bloomfield, New Jer- 

 sey, I came upon a noisy three-corner- 

 ed battle between a pair of Sparrow 

 Hawks, a pair of Red-headed Wood- 

 peckers and a trio of Starlings for the 

 possession of a decayed maple stump. 



In the top of this stump was located 

 a deserted nest of the Flicker of last 

 year and about a foot below the Red- 

 heads had excavated a nest. The Star- 

 lings and Sparrow Hawks having both 

 laid claim to the deserted nest, were 

 busily engaged in fighting it out for 

 possession. The Redheads, on the 

 other hand took decided exceptions to 

 the intrusion of both the other species 

 and were attempting to disperse, the 

 combatants for the upper story of 

 their new home. 



On April 15th the Hawks apparently 

 by superior strength had driven off 

 both of its rivals and were making 

 elaborate preparations in anticipation 

 of their coming offspring. But this 

 was not to be, as several Italian wood 

 seekers went them one better and car- 

 ried off the stump on their backs, thus 

 forcing the Hawks to seek other 

 quarters, the whereabouts of which is 

 still an unsolved puzzle. 



Louis S. Kohler. 



