State Reports 



337 



country is so extensive that we either had to spend the entire summer in 

 continuous traveling and get only a casual glance at the existing conditions 

 and a general view of the country, or we had to select a certain portion of 

 the country, study it carefully and protect the various bird colonies that 

 existed there. We decided upon the latter course. We procured a boat 

 that was suitable to carry our equipment and provisions, and set out for 

 Tule Lake, a body of water from twenty to thirty miles wide and about 



CORMORANTS AND YOUNG WHITE PELICANS IN OREGON 

 Photoi;raphed by Finley and Bohlman 



ninety miles around. Its north end was formerly the great Grebe breeding 

 ground. We set out directly across the lake and, striking a heavy wind, nar- 

 rowly escaped being swamped in the middle. We spent several days cruising 

 about, and found two large Cormorant rookeries (probably the Farallone 

 Cormorant). A few White Pelicans also nested in this locality. There was 

 nothing to disturb these colonies, as only one man and his family live on 

 the peninsula. 



"We then had to return for supplies. From information we obtained 

 from an old hunter there we again set out to examine a Grebe rookery 

 on the lake. We found a large number of the Western Grebe, as well as 

 some of the Eared Grebe, nesting here, but from all accounts the colonies 

 had greatly decreased. The Grebes at this locality are undoubtedly now on 

 the increase, as there is nothing to disturb them. We also found large colo- 

 nies of Forster's and Black Terns, American Avocets and Black-necked 

 Stilts, all doing well. 



"The locality is the greatest rendezvous for Ducks and Teal we have 

 ever seen, and that right in the midst of the breeding season. In a little 

 patch of about an acre in extent, we found seven different nests of the Cin- 

 namon Teal and the Pintail. The meadows at the mouth of the river are 



