10 Union Bay 



whose green jointed stalks had sprung up in many sheltered 

 spots. No other new marsh growth had appeared. The whole 

 area lay lifeless, a mixture of what might be called "dis- 

 couraged shades of brown/' 



Nevertheless, the tule wrens had arrived. I had waited for 

 them since the tree swallows began their seemingly hopeless 

 task of finding flying-insect food in the cold March breezes. 

 I had reasons for wanting to see the wrens. I had been read- 

 ing and hearing much about the definite ways in which birds 

 appropriated nesting locations and then stayed in the area 

 of their choice. They would hold it against all newcomers so 

 that when a mate arrived there would be shelter and food for 

 the nesting and the raising of the young. The subject so fas- 

 cinated me that I decided to investigate it myself. No birds 

 seemed more suitable for observation than the tule wrens: 

 they were plentiful, they nested close to the ground, and few 

 places could provide such easy access as the low-growth, tree- 

 less sections of the marsh. 



Although I found tule wrens in many places in the area, 

 I was not satisfied until I came to the little pool among the 

 cattails. There were no cottonwoods or willows in the fore- 

 ground, and those which stood at some distance in the rear 

 would be an advantage rather. than a hindrance for they 

 would insure quiet water and, for my own comfort, freedom 

 from the worst of the spring winds. A bittern flushed as I 

 made my inspection, and it flew away croaking— stripes 

 plainly visible in the sun and the claws of its trailing feet 

 pointing upward. This bird, too, was concerned with the 

 problem of space for the season and I was quite sure that 

 it had already chosen a cattail-filled spot back from the 

 water. A song sparrow— small, cheerful, and friendly— flitted 

 about among the lower third of the cattail stalks. Then two 

 tule wrens, one on each side of the small cove, scolded me as 

 I paddled the canoe around. This was the exact place I had 



