The OoLOGiST. 



VOL. XII. NO. 1. 



ALBION, N. Y., JAN., 1895. 



Whole No. Ill 



A Rough Tims Collecting at Shoal Lake, 

 Manitoha. 



Shoal Lake cootains several islands 

 on 'One of which a colony ofWhite 

 Pelicans formerly nested in gieat num- 

 bers. Mr. R. Hunter on the 1st of June 

 1878 counted six hundred eggs on a 

 smallisland of about half an acre in ex- 

 tent,* but since that time their numbers 

 has considerabl}' diminished. 



The second week in June last sum- 

 mer Mr. Edward Arnold, mvself and 

 two assistants spent live days collect- 

 ing at Shoal Lake and although we vis- 

 ited several islands, we did not fall in 

 with thecolon_y of White Pelicans. As 

 Mr. Arnold's time was limited we re- 

 turned to Reahurn and he went west- 

 ward to Quappelle to see his brother 

 whom he had not met for twenty years, 

 while I went north to Lake Manitoba. 

 After spending a week collecting at 

 Long Lake and Lake Manitoba, I made 

 up my mind to I'eturn to Shoal Lake, as 

 it had proved to be a splendid collect- 

 ing ground, for we had taken a fine ser- 

 ies of eggs of American Bittern, Hol- 

 bffill's. Horned and Eared Grebe, Fors- 

 ter's Tern, Double-crested Cormorant 

 and several species of Duck's eggs. 



So on June 17th I hired a young 

 farmer and his buckboard and taking 

 my canvas boat, gun, camera and prov- 

 isions for three days, we drove twenty- 

 eight miles northward reaching wood- 

 lands in the evening, and put up at the 

 farm house for the night, and next 

 morning we arose early and proceeded 

 three miles further when the lake ap- 

 peared glistening in the morning sun. 

 We drove to a point on the east side of 

 the lake near which we had been 

 camped on our previous visit. Off this 

 peninsula is a rocky island, separated 

 * Thompson's Birds of Manitoba. 



from the point by a shallow channel of 

 water. We waded across to the island 

 and found that the great wind storm of 

 June 12th had caused the water to wash 

 over a portion of the island destroying 

 hundreds of eggs of the Terns which 

 Mr. Arnold and myself had found nest- 

 ing in vast numbers on our visit ten 

 days previous. The colony of Ring- 

 billed Gulls had also forsaken their 

 nests owing to the waves having played 

 sad havoc with their nests and eggs and 

 broken eggs of Terns, Gulls and Ducks 

 were scattei'ed between the rocks. On 

 the highest part of the island many 

 beautiful young Terns in downy plu- 

 mage were observed and I also flushed a. 

 Spotted Sandpiper off its nest contain- 

 ing four extra well marked eggs. 



After taking a photograph of the is- 

 land we waded back to the point and 

 while my man unhitched his horse so- 

 it could browse, I examined the tall 

 grass and shrubs on the peninsulas, 

 thinking it was a likely place to find a 

 Duck's nest, I had not gone far before a. 

 Gadwall fiushed up right in front of 

 my feet and there was its beautiful nes t, 

 of down containing ten eggs, these I 

 took and had not proceeded twenty 

 yards or so before another Gadwall 

 arose in front of me, and this nest con- 

 tained six fresh eggs. I called my man, 

 to come and help to look for Ducks 

 nests and we paced over every part of 

 this small elevated peninsula, fiushing 

 Ducks up every few minutes, and the 

 excitement was intense for in less than 

 an hour we had several sets each of 

 Gadwall, Baldpate, Mallard, Shoveller 

 and Pintail, and I was also fortunate in 

 flushing a Wilson's Phalarope oft" its 

 nest and four heavily spotted eggs. 



Having examined the point thorough- 

 ly and photographed a beautiful nest of 

 the Gadwall, containing ten eggs, built, 



