i68 



THE NIDIOLOGIST. 



My '94 Outincj Trip in North-Wesc 

 Canada. 



BY K. ARNOLD. 



1HAI) intended spending part of the 

 Spring of 1893 gathering birds and e^gs 

 in Manitoba and Assinoboine, but at 

 the last moment I was sorely disappointed 

 to find that, owing to pressing business 

 and the World's Fair, i must postpone my 

 trip until '94. 



This spring everything was favorable, 

 and I found I could have leave early in 

 June. The last week in May I commenced 

 to prepare for the trip, getting a tent and 

 all the outfit necessary tor camping. I left 

 home Saturday, June 2, via Chicago and 

 Grand Trunk Railway, destination Mani- 

 toba and Assinoboine. 



I passed through Michigan and Indiana 

 and saw many of my collecting grounds 

 where T had this spring taken over fifty eggs 

 of the following hawks: Red-tail, Red-shoul- 

 dered, Broad- wing. Cooper's, besides nu- 

 merous eggs of the King, Virginia, Caro- 

 lina Rails, Coots, Finches, Grosbeaks, 

 Grebes, Robins, Woodpeckers, and other 

 common birds. I arrived at Chicago at 



5 o'clock the same evening, and left at 



6 o'clock for St. Paul via the Wisconsin 

 Central, arriving there at 8 o'clock the next 

 morning fvSunday). 



I spent the day at vSt. Paul, visiting sev- 

 eral parks, and was surprised to see numer- 

 ous Gulls flying around the small lakes, 

 diving after fish in clo.se proximity to the 

 numerous boats which various pleasure 

 parties were rowing around. The birds 

 seemed to be joining in the amusement. 



Sunday night I took the Northern Pacific 

 train for Winnipeg. The following day we 

 passed through North Dakota. I was sur- 

 prised to .see the large number of Ducks, 

 Plover, and other wild fowl in close proxim- 

 ity to the railway tracks. They flew from 

 every pond we passed, and many of them 

 must have had nests close to the rails. I 



found a numljer of Teal and Shoveller's 

 nests within four feet of the rails of the 

 Canadian Pacific Railway in Manitoba. 

 They .seem to like the warm, sun-exposed 

 banks along the railwa}' tracks, and as 

 they are shrouded and covered with thick 

 grass, there is very fair protection for the 

 nests and eggs from water and marauders 

 of every kind. 



The section men along the Canadian Paci- 

 fic Railway told me that the Ducks would 

 sit on their nests while they were working 

 by the hour within a few feet of the eggs. 

 As the nests are .seldom disturbed by the 

 men, the birds soon learn to trust them. 

 Many kinds of Plovers and Sandpipers 

 were flying in flocks on their way to the 

 northern breeding grounds. 



I noticed numbers of Chickens, Grouse, 

 American Bittern, and other game birds, 

 flying from bunches of thick grass at the 

 approach of the train. 



After a pleasant trip through North Da- 

 kota, we arrived at Winnipeg at 4.30 p. M., 

 and only stayed a few hours there, and left 

 at 7 for Reaburn and Long Lake, my first 

 collecting ground. I arrived at Reaburn at 

 8.30 o'clock, and as the .sun was still shin- 

 ing I hurriedly made arrangements with 

 the .section foreman for a room and decided 

 to take a spin around the prairie, in hopes 

 of finding a Duck's nest. I could hear the 

 beautiful song of the Western Meadow 

 Larks, whose notes are quite different from 

 our Eastern species, being more mellow 

 and pleasing to the ear. 



In less than five minutes I found a beau- 

 tiful nest of the Blue-wing Teal, made of 

 soft grass lined with the feathers and down 

 from the breast of the bird. The nest was 

 placed on the south side of the railway 

 bank, not three feet from the rails of the 

 C. P. Railway and close to a small pool of 

 water, and was within 100 feet of the 

 house. The bird was very tame and kept 

 clo.se to the nest during my presence. The 

 nest contained eleven beautiful buff-colored 

 fresh eggs of nearly oval shape. I took 

 the nest and eggs to the house in a silk 

 handkerchief, and after blowing and wash- 

 ing them, I put them away. It was still 

 daylight, although it was nearly 10 o'clock. 

 The sun does not set until long after 

 9 o'clock. Consequently the days are very 

 long. As I was very tired I retired for the 

 night, feeling well pleased with my first 15 

 minutes' collecting. 



Battle Creek, Mich. I'l'o i,c continued.] 



