26 The Wilson Bulletin — No. 94 



The object of the trip was to determine the status of the 

 bird-Hfe of the region at this season in connection with the 

 work of Hsting the birds of the state being done by the Ten- 

 nessee Ornithological Society. The results of the trip were 

 very satisfactory, a total of 59 species being observed, besides 

 a collection of 35 skins was made up, among which are rep- 

 resented most of the species not commonly found. The sea- 

 son was well advanced and the birds noted were no doubt 

 typical of what can be found there throughout the winter. 

 The only disappointing feature of the trip was the fact that 

 most of 'the ducks had left the lake, or as the natives put it, 

 the "first flight" had just left and the second had not come 

 in. We were told that ten days before our arrival hundreds 

 of flocks of ducks and geese had visited the lake; during our 

 stay we saw only about twenty flocks of the former. The 

 weather was temperate, with a bit of wind and rain, but not 

 enough of the latter to interfere with field work. 



Reelfoot Lake is located in the extreme northwest corner 

 of Tennessee, the northern end extending across the Ken- 

 tucky line and its western margin lying' about five miles from 

 the Mississippi river. The lake proper is from two to three 

 miles wide and about twenty miles long, although its marshes 

 and sloughs extended over a considerably larger area. This fine 

 body of water is the result of an earthquake which occurred 

 in 1811, and the thousands of submerged and partly sub- 

 merged cypress snags still stand mute witness to this fact. 

 The depth of the water at some points is thirty feet or more, 

 and where such depths are met the surface is free from snags. 

 The entire lake is bordered with " saw grass," in fact it is 

 encountered wherever a depth of three feet or less is met. 

 Since many of the arms of the lake are shallow, this grass 

 is found in immense areas and it affords fine shelter for wa- 

 ter birds. Hill country comes to within a half mile of the 

 east shore of the lake, being separated by low damp woods. 

 The country on the west bank, extending to the Mississippi 

 river, is low swampy woodland, a comparatively small por- 

 tion of which has recently been cleared up and put into cul- 

 tivation. The timber is of great variety, sweet gum, oak. 



