Jan., 1920 A RETURN TO THE DAKOTA LAKE REGION 25 
the wires, part of them broke away; but instead of flying toward the lake as | 
expected them to do, flew up in the sky, flashing white and going higher and 
higher until, before my enraptured gaze, they actually went up out of sight in 
the blue! The next division of the flock flew about erratically at first, but calls 
as of command from above apparently drew them together and they too rose 
higher and higher till they went out of sight in the sky, leaving me thrilled and 
awed by this translation of a winged host. 
During the short interval between the visits of the two great flocks of Bank 
Swallows—on August 4—a flock of migrating Wilson Phalaropes appeared on 
the lake. On my way home from the cove of the Ruddies, I had just looked back 
at the western shore where a glittering sunpath was starting across the water. 
when out on the lake my attention was arrested by a compact flock of small 
Snipe-like birds that came swinging in to alight on the smooth glistening water. 
Their slender necks, nodding heads, and their quick nervous manner of turning 
from side to side to pick insects from the surface proclaimed them Phalaropes, 
and I welcomed them with peculiar delight after my experiences on Phalarope 
Slough during the summer. Perhaps my friends were among them! In any ease, it 
seemed a rare privilege to be visited by a migrating flock of the exquisite birds. 
The water appeared covered with them. Overhead white-breasted Gulls wan- 
dered about, and twittering Swallows came out of the blue sky, while on lake 
and in sky the scenes were being shifted for the last act—the beautiful close of 
the day, well fitted to celebrate the coming of these spirit-like wanderers. 
Two days afterwards, late in the afternoon, I found the quiet surface of the 
lake alive with them. Looking across the water I could place them by dots head- 
ing short hair-line wakes. From one spot I counted fifty of them, and that was 
only a fraction of their numbers. They rode like miniature Franklin Gulls, with 
wings tight at their sides and tails up, while their long-billed heads nodded and 
picked to right and left. Though generally feeding from the surface one would 
sometimes give a quick jab so deep below that its tail tipped up. When they 
_ rose and flew, they made a close flock with white retreating spindles, and wheel- 
ing, went on with swift aerial evolutions till I stood amazed. For how do they 
get their training? Who ealls ‘‘Fall in?’’ Who drills their troop to acquire 
such perfect efficiency ? 
As they re-lit, their long wings pointed forward a second in beautiful pose. 
Sometimes a pretty picture was caught as a delicately modelled head and neek 
was reflected in the still water. Before sunset the lake presented a beautiful 
water color in soft gray and silver. On the gray water of the east side of the 
lake, each Phalarope’s wake had a siivery sheen; between the tule islands were 
long silvery lines, while beyond, the main body of the lake was a sheet of silver: 
and away at the end of the field of vision, soft gray cloud lay along the hori- 
zon. Over this rarely beautiful water color, softly tinted Gulls flew about, har- 
monizing, bringing together all the delicate elements of the picture. 
The next morning at eight o’clock when Swallows and Black Terns were 
skimming over the surface of the lake and large flocks of Ducks were coming in 
from the east, the white bodied Phalaropes were down at the south end of the 
lake, showing well in the dark reflections of the trees. At six o’clock that night 
over three hundred of the little creatures were gathered in the same place, sug- 
gesting close set pins in the smooth water, small flocks of them at times rising 
and swinging around in beautiful white-flashing formation. 
