188 



THE OOLOdlST 



WITH THE BIRDS IN THE GEOR- 

 GIAN BAY DISTRICT 



It was with pleasant anticipation 

 that I left the train on the 6th day of 

 June of this year to change to a 

 motor car which was to carry me to 

 my destination, where I was to meet 

 my friend, Dr. Harrington. 



Each year we have spent a few 

 weeks in June together on the south 

 shore of Georgian Bay. Our object 

 in visiting this part of the country 

 has been, and is, the study of bird 

 life. 



My spirits were somewhat cooled 

 by the information that there was 

 still lots of ice in the Bay, and when 

 a mile from the beach, this fact was 

 brought home to us by the chilly air. 

 The bay was covered with drift ice as 

 far as the eye could see. Instead of 

 seeing the usual large flocks of Her- 

 ring and Ring-billed Gulls, Common 

 and Caspian Terns and an occasional 

 Loon, there were only a few scattered 

 gulls. 



However, on arrival at the cottage 

 we soon made ourselves comfortable. 

 The next day the sun came out, and 

 while cold along the beach, it was 

 quite warm a short distance inland. 



I won't try to describe our experi- 

 ences in detail but will confine my- 

 self to a 'brief description of the coun- 

 try and some of the birds noted. 



The country is rolling and very 

 sandy. The ridges are mostly open, 

 while the hollows are usually covered 

 with thick brush, and in some places, 

 quite swampy. The characteristic 

 trees are White and Red pine, cedar, 

 spruce, hemlock, birch and poplar. 

 Elms are numerous along the river 

 where there are lots of alder. Juni- 

 per is also very common. There is 

 a fine beach where numerous shore 

 birds can be seen in the fall. 



The following birds were found 

 nesting or gave evidence of it: 



64 Caspian Tern — Fairly plentiful 

 along the Bay. Nest on one of the 

 Islands in Georgian Bay. 



70 Common Tern — Lives up to its 

 name. Nests in simall numbers on 

 one of the islands. 



77 Black Tern — ^Common. Nests 

 early in June on a small island lake. 

 A set of four eggs was found on June 

 15th, 1921. 



263 Spotted Sandpiper — Very com- 

 mon. 



273 Killdeer — ^Common. Four in- 

 cubated eggs on island where Terns 

 nest late in July. 



SOOa Canadian Ruffed Grouse — ^As 

 many as seven hens with broods were 

 seen in one day. A nest with five 

 fresh eggs found at foot of a Maple 

 tree, June 13th, which is very late. 



316 Mourning Dove — ^Fairly com- 

 mon. Two nests with eggs found on 

 June 6th. One was built on the trunk 

 of a fallen pine. 



388 Black-billed Cuckoo — One was 

 flushed from one egg in an unusually 

 frail nest in a scrub pine. This was 

 the first time we had noted this 

 bird here. 



390 King-fisher — Breeds commonly 

 in river banks. 



412a Northern Flicker — ^Very com- 

 mon. One was found nesting in a 

 two foot high stump, the eggs being 

 laid on sawdust (?) on the ground. 



417 Whip-poor-will — Common. Two 

 fresh eggs on leaves beside log in 

 woods on June 12th. 



420 Nighthawk — Very common. 

 Nests in open country any time in 

 June. 



444 King-bird — Nests commonly in 

 bushes and on stumps along river. 



456 Phoeibe — ^Very common. 



461 Wood Pewee — Very common. 



463 Yellow-bellied Fly-catchers — 

 One lone bird seen in deep swamp. 



477 — B 1 u e J a y— Common. Five 

 fresh eggs in nest in scrub pine deep 



