The Audubon Societies 



259 



WE EXPLORED 'THE BURN 



LIGHT PIROGUES 



Pierrie," whose fresh young face has been 

 preserved in a painting that still hangs on 

 the wall of this historic home. 



At Bayou Sara I was met by R. H. 

 Stirling, who was assigned by the State 

 Conservation Commission to be my guide 

 while in the state. On May 14, near the 

 town of Jackson, we visited a Heron col- 

 ony which contained probably forty pairs 

 of Snowy Egrets, in addition to many 

 Little Blues, Louisiana, and Black-crowned 

 Night Herons. A warden was at once em- 

 ployed to guard this colony. 



Traveling by automobile northwardinto 

 Wilkinson County, Mississippi, a swamp 

 known locally as 'The Burn' was investi- 

 gated in diminutive pirogues. This proved 

 to be the home of many water-birds, in- 

 cluding perhaps 200 pairs of Little Blue 

 Herons, 8 pairs of Yellow-crowned Night 

 Herons, 12 pairs of Snowy Egrets, and at 

 least 75 pairs of Water Turkeys. Many 

 nests were examined. Egrets have nearly 

 all been killed in this section, but 10 or. 

 12 pairs of Snowies were observed, and a 

 local man was engaged to guard the colony. 

 If it can be protected a few years it should 

 become one of the most important breed- 

 ing-places of water-birds in that section of 

 the country. 



Down in Cameron Parish, Louisiana, I 

 was greatly disappointed to find that the 

 Roseate Spoonbills discovered a few years 

 ago in Black Bayou were no longer to be 



found. A scientific e.xpedition, with col- 

 lecting permits, visited this colony last 

 year with the result that the surviving 

 Spoonbills had not again returned. A small 

 colony of Herons, which included perhaps 

 half a dozen Snowy Egrets, constituted the 

 total water-bird life found here on May 18. 

 Farther south in the same Parish, however, 

 a splendid surprise awaited us. Here, on 

 what is locally known as 'Bird Island' on 

 Cameron Farm, there is located a colony 

 of Herons in which I counted forty Snowy 

 Egrets and five of the large Egrets. Here, 

 to my delight, I found breeding Spoonbills 

 and 87 were in sight at one time, sailing 

 around in the air over the trees. At this 

 time no young were visible, and the 

 75 nests examined contained sets of eggs 

 varying from three to five in number. 

 The warden whom I employed to guard the 

 place has since reported that the number 

 of Spoonbills increased to the neighbor- 

 hood of two hundred shortly after my visit. 

 At Aransas Pass, on the coast of Texas, 

 I was met by William L. and Irene Finley 

 who had journeyed there by appointment 

 from Portland in order that we might work 

 •together in some of the interesting bird- 

 colonies on the Texas coast. We were re- 

 ceived as guests aboard the 'Jim Duke,' a 

 stout gasoline boat with adequate cabin 

 space for our party, owned by the State 

 Game, Fish, and Oyster Commission. In 

 this we traveled northward eighty miles 



