78 THE 
but without finding the 
their 
gone over, 
slightest sign of the gulls or 
nests. 
After eating my lunch I walked back 
to the boat intending to row up a few 
hundred feet and try the country to 
the south of the river, but had no soon- 
er pushed off than a gull swept by, 
within a few yards of the boat, and to 
my great joy I noticed that it was 
OOLOGIST 
could be reached, as they were plac- 
ed in the very center of a soft treach- 
erous mire, covered with a species 
of tall growing reed, reaching to a 
height of six or seven feet. The nests 
were in all stages of construction, 
but none of them contained eggs. 
From here I circled the mire, beach- 
ing the boat on the opposite side and 
started to search the dry land in back 
No. 45 Valley of the River Rhone near Vevey, Switzerland. 
Photo by Paul G.- Howes. 
earrying a large bunch of grass in 
its mandibles. The south, side of the 
river was soon forgotten as the bird 
flew directly in the opposite direction, 
coming down into a swampy, reed-cov- 
ered portion of the valley about three- 
quarters of a mile beyond where the 
morning’s search had ceased. On 
reaching the spot I found that there 
were ten nests, but not one of them 
of the swamp. Half an hour’s work 
revealed one nest, a large affair of 
dead reeds and grasses apparently just 
ready for the reception of the eggs. 
It was placed on a slight mound separ- 
ated from the mire by the remains of 
an old stone wall and within ten feet 
of a frequently used path to Villen- 
euve. Knowing that I would not be 
able to visit the place again as I 
