THE O0LO(aST. 



23; 



REV. P. B. PEABODY, Wilder, Minn. 



The time we made w«s quite satisfac- 

 tory. We drove across ihe marsh to a 

 point of elevated ground near the edge 

 of the Lake and rlose to Rock Island, 

 where a huge cnldny of Forster's Terns 

 [Sterna forsterii) had hundreds of their 

 nests and eggs lying amund in the 

 gravel and weeds, a great many of the 

 nests contained one, two, or three eggs 

 and a few had as many as fonr eggs. 



I collected about sixty fresh eggs and 

 could have taken tive hundred had I 

 wished so many. The eggs are very 

 handsome and show quite a variation, the 

 ground foloi- vai} iiig f'-om white to a 

 dark olive, some are blotched, others 

 highly enlored with brown, black and 

 violet spots. Mr. liaine shot two rare 

 Sandpipers and toolv their nests and 

 eggs, but iinfoit nnatt'ly bi-oke the four 

 fresh eggs and allowed the skins to spoil 

 from lack <iF time to skin the birds. 



On the edge of the marsh I found a 

 nest of the Canvas-back {Aythya 

 vnllisneria) eontainingseveneggs almost 



incubated. I left the eggs in the nest 

 and the next day the young ducks ap- 

 peared. The nest was a beauty and 

 Avas built in the tall flags on the ground 

 and was entirely surrounded by water. 

 The bird flew around in great distress 

 while I was examining the nest and 

 eggs. 



While we were driving across the 

 marsh tlie horses almost stepped on a 

 Prairie Chicken [TympanucJms ameri- 

 canus) and her nest of six eggs, lightly 

 incubated. The nest was simply a hole 

 scratched in the ground and was sur- 

 rounded by short prairie grass. 



I also found near the edge of the- 

 marsh a nest of the Red-head- 

 [Aythya americana) containing one egg. 

 It was now getting dark and we re- 

 turned to our tent, which we had 

 pitched near the edge of the marsh. 



The mosquitoes bothered us a great 

 deal and our sleep was broken by the 

 pests. We had to drink the bog water 

 which was veiy dirty and at last I was 

 driven in desperation to partake of the 

 alkaline water from Shoal Lake. I 

 found the taste not unpleasant and 

 drank quite a lot of it whenever I felt 

 thirsty. I have since suffered a good 

 deal from the effects of it. Shoal Lake 

 is a large body of water and is so shal- 

 low in many places that one can wade 

 three-fourths of a mile from shore. 

 The locality is wild and very sparsely 

 inhabited, making '.t a hne place for 

 wild game to bring forth their young 

 unmolested. 



On Rock Island I found a nest of 

 the Canada Goose, (Branta canadetisis) 

 the young birds had evidently been 

 hatched in it before our arrival. 



June 9th, 1 was out early on the look- 

 out for Grebes nests. I soon found a 

 nest of Holboell's Grebe (Colymbus 

 holbcellii), containing five fresh eggs. 

 The nest was built near the edge of the 

 marsh grass in about 3 feet of water, 

 and was composed of dead vegetation 

 with a few flags and a little grass mixed 

 in. The eggs were covered. I after- 



