July, 1911 
NESTING NOTES ON DUCKS OF TOE BARR LAKE REGION, CORO. 
125 
not find a single nest where the eggs were the least bit damp; and the large ma- 
jority were in perfectly dr\' locations in close proximit\- to water. 
The concealment of the better built nests, e.speciall}' those in the center of a 
tussock of rank grass, was well nigh perfect; in fact in most cases we were unable to 
.see either the brooding bird or the eggs from a di.stance of five or six feet even 
when we knew the exact location of the nest. Upon leaving the nest during incu- 
bation the parpnt covered the eggs with the downy rim of the nest and the conceal- 
ment thus afforded was remarkable. 
We found ne.sts exhibiting every possible degree of skill in construction, but 
whether the nest was a rude affair of grasses and tra.sh .scraped into a little hollow 
in the ground; or whether it was a beautifully woven basket-like structure deeply 
set into a soft cradle of rich grass, and luxuriously lined with an abundance of soft 
gray down from the parent’s breast, we invariably encountered the strong mother 
instinct characteristic of all wild ducks. The brooding parent .seldom left her nest 
until we were within three or four paces of her, and often we approached to within 
arm’s length. In one instance where the parent had become somewhat accustomed 
to me I actually touched the bird’s back before she flushed. 
Several farmers living near the lakes told us of killing or maiming the brooding- 
birds with mowing machines while cutting the first crop of alfalfa. This remark- 
able attachment to the nest is all the more wonderful when one considers the difficulty 
of getting wnthin gunshot of these birds during the open season, which in Colorado 
extends to April 5, scarcely more than a month before the birds begin to lay. It is, 
however, very interesting to note how quickly all the ducksfand more particularly the 
teal) recognize the protection of the closed season. Uate in May one may stroll 
along the shores of the smaller lakes and watch from one to five hundred ducks 
swimming about within a hundred yards or so, without exhibiting any particular 
fear of the intruder, whereas six w'eeks earlier his distant appearance would be 
greeted with a roar of wings. 
Several radical departures from the characteristic habits were encountered. 
One bird had built her nest on a little flat amid some short blue grass which 
afforded her no concealment whatever. As she brooded her eggs she was jilainly 
visible at a distance of twenty yards or more. She allowed me to approach to 
within four or five feet and set up my camera for an exposure; and then in.stead of 
springing lightl}^ into the air as usual, she ambled awkardly off the nest, -w^addled 
slowly between the legs of my tripod, uttering lazy little quacks of protest, and final- 
ly after -w^alking a distance of thirty yards or more took flight. 
While ploughing our way till ough a dense cat-tail swamp in water above our 
knees we frightened a teal from a nest in a musk-rat house. A careful search 
finally revealed the eggs fully a foot back from the entrance of a deep cavity in the 
side of the house. To our surprise the nest contained four eggs of the teal and 
five eggs of some big duck, all of which were incubated. 
^ Another queer nest was found, which was a shallow depression on the side of a 
dilapidated musk-rat house, which had been originally built between a fence post 
and its diagonal brace. The lower barbed wire of the fence prevented the top of 
the house from collapsing, while the side weathered away, leaving a cavity well 
protected by the overhanging top. In this cavity without a sign of lining or a bit 
of concealment lay the ten conspicuous white eggs. They could be readily seen 
from a distance of twenty yards. 
Another beautifully built and concealed nest with eleven eggs was just a frac- 
tion less than three feet from a nest where a patient little mother Spotted Sandpiper 
brooded her four eggs. 
