THE OOLOOI81, 



Egret and saw full sets that were 

 near the hatching stage. Also noted 

 a large number of Water Turkeys 

 nesting and a few Yellow-crowned 

 Nightherons nesting with the Egrets. 

 Also found a very few Fla. Cormo- 

 rants. While up a small cypress look- 

 ing at a nest of young Anhinga I cast 

 my eye through the swamp and spied 

 my Ivory-billed leaving a hole in a 

 sizeable cypress about 60 feet from 

 the mire. I was so elated that I 

 shouted, of course, and nearly lost 

 my balance. Hastily coming down 

 we arrived at base of this cypress and 

 after a very arduous climb rammed 

 my arm down the cavity and found 5 

 young Ivory Bills nearly full fledged. 

 To say, I was delighted at finding this 

 nest is putting it midly and to say I 

 was disappointed in not getting a set 

 is also using mild language. I stay- 

 ed up the tree for full 30 minutes and 

 never saw any more of the old ones, 

 although I heard one a little distance 

 in the swamp. These noble birds 

 are sure scarce, in all my ram^bles 

 through swamp and in several parts 

 of the state do not think I have ever 

 seen more than a dozen adult birds. 



This is my first nest of this bird, but 

 I hope not my last. The cavitv wan 

 fully 20 inches deep and dug out of 

 the live tree. While up this tree I 

 counted 8 nests with old one on of 

 Osprey. But was too tired to investi- 

 gate any nests to note the stage of 

 incubation. 



April 10, I'was hastily called to-day 

 to my small colony of American 

 Egrets that I had been trying to pro- 

 tect. Word was brought me that 

 shooting had been heard there for a 

 full hour. When I got there I found 

 that the murderous Plume Hunters 

 had found my birds and had left 

 them. But left them dead on the 

 ground. In a couple of instances the 

 plume had been stripped from birds 

 not yet dead. But Buzzards were 

 right on their job alright and Qrows 

 and Hawks also were around. The 

 nests almost all contained young, for 

 the most part just hatched out, these 

 little innocent things left to starve 

 and hecome the prey of Vultures and 

 Crows, etc., all because heartless wo- 

 men want to adorn their hats with 

 some plumes. It looks hardly possi- 

 'ble that any one living in this day of 

 enlightment would want an ornament 



that caused so much ruthless destruc- 

 tion in ohtaining. It is sure a sad 

 sight to visit a murdered roost, and 

 I want no more of it in mine. But I 

 am more fully determined than ever 

 to save the few that are left in this 

 locality. Three years ago there were 

 500 pairs, now about 30. 



April 19, I found some nice things 

 today. A pair of wary "Lord Gods" 

 (Pileated Woodpecker) kept me 

 guessing, but I was a good guesser 

 myself and heat them. I found their 

 abode in a dead pine snag about 30 

 feet up, cavity contained a badly in- 

 cubated set of 4 eggs. Visited the 

 old home of my friends, Aix Sponsa, 

 but some one else had visited it first 

 and had pushed the snag over and I 

 counted the remains of at least a doz- 

 en fresh eggs mixed with the down. 

 Another home I found undisturbed 

 and left it so. To-day I found my 

 first Florida Duck nest in this part of 

 the 'State. Wild Turkeys seem to be 

 pretty plentiful to-day, and all with 

 nice large sets in and if "varmints" 

 do not get the eggs, think there will 

 be lots of this game for the hunters 

 this Winter. The fem.ale turkey is a 

 wise old lady for fair, makes her nest 

 in a briar tangle and the leaves match 

 her plumage so well that one will al- 

 most step on her before she will 

 move. I stood for fully five minutes 

 within 20 inches of one, to-day, listen- 

 ing to ia pair of Lord Gads' in the 

 woods. Happening to glance down I 

 espied her eye and away she skidded 

 as slick as a snake, disclosing a nice 

 nest of weeds, leaves and feathers 

 from her body and a large set of 12. 

 They will usuallj- desert their nest if 

 you handle the eggs, but not always. 

 Last year I found a set of 16, and 

 thinking the poor hen could hardly 

 cover so many eggs, I generously bor- 

 rowed 6 of them and hatched them at 

 home. Later I visited the nest again 

 and found that she had hatched only 

 9, which shows, you see, that 10 eggs 

 are really too many for one hen to 

 cover anyway. Found Ghuck-Will- 

 Widows with fresh sets to-day and 

 Brown-headed Nuthatch and Florida 

 Wren. Arriving at the lake I was 

 soon among my old favorites, the Gal- 

 linules, especially the handsome pur- 

 ple ones. They are locally known by 

 many names as Pond Chicken, Indian 

 Pullet, Bennett Walkers and Prairie 



