176 
THE CONDOR 
Vol. XIV 
water and plunged across them gallantly. In fact, on one occasion he elected to 
take a rest in mid-stream much to our surprise and discomfiture. 
When within about a mile of Forni’s I relieved Heinemann of leading the 
burro while our official photographer and Littlejohn hurried on to the cabins to 
prepare the evening meal. Being fairly well acquainted with the locality and 
finding the road, which now headed across a boggy meadow and around a 
swampy shallow lake, almost impassable, I struck out over a heavily timbered 
ridge. After some trying experiences I finally reached the cabins at a quarter to 
eight. 
Here our fagged-out burro was -given shelter in a log barn which we found 
well stocked with hay. With this' and with the addition of oats, a delicacy held 
in high favor by all “Sage-bruSh Ganaries”, of which we carried a 25 pound sack, 
our song-bird fared well. Within, the alpine dwelling was soon made cheerful 
by the light of lamps and candles. With the crackling of a fire and the grateful 
odor arising from steaming viands all the hardships of the day were soon half 
forgotten. 
As the photo shows (fig. 62); Forni’s is situated at the head of a long, 
glacial meadow at the base of Pyramid Peak. Almost at our cabin door and 
fed by the snows of Pyramid flowed a merry little brook that furnished us with 
crystal liquid during the day and sang us to sleep with its pleasant hum at night. 
The first day afield in any region is ever the most enjoyable; and with much 
expectant enthusiasm, boyish, if you will, we arose early next morning and were 
soon abroad in the pleasant, crjspy, sunny atmosphere. As we journeyed down 
the meadow, retracing our steps of the night before, we saw Red-breasted Nut- 
hatches, California Creepers, Mountain Chickadees and Sierra Juncos, some of 
which were engaged in nest building, and as the nest of the White-headed Wood- 
pecker I had located the night before was found to contain five almost fresh eggs, 
we rather hurriedly and feverishly endeavored to cover the miles that lay between 
us, and where the Pine Grosbeaks had been previously seen.. Several miles be- 
fore we came to that now historic spot I came upon another pair billing on the 
limb of a lodge-pole or tamarack pine. I immediately gave the pre-arranged 
signal call and Fleinemann and Littlejohn joining me the birds were observed 
from three different points at once. After some time, however, the pair flew 
away to a far-off hillside where all track of them was lost. Neither were 
we able to find any trace of the pair seen the previous night although we spent 
considerable time in the vicinity. 
We lunched nearby at the edge of a hill-top clearing which gave a rare view 
of the surrounding mountains. Here I spied an Audubon Warbler engaged in 
building a nest on the perilous end of a long, drooping, fir branch 75 feet up. As 
we viewed the nest we all echoed the hope that even with the loss of an opportuni- 
ty to try our various paraphernalia, we much preferred that any nest of the Pine 
Grosbeak found would be in a more accessible situation. 
On the way back, on reaching the Forni meadow, Heinemann and Littlejohn 
went on to camp while I continued to spend some further time afield working the 
section that lies southeast of the meadow. Here I came upon a male Pine Gros- 
beak singing in a fir top, and later a pair which, engaged in preening their 
feathers, I watched for nearly two hours. I felt sure I was unseen by the birds 
so stealthily had I approached, and when they took flight I was reasonably certain 
it was the flight of birds who were still roaming about with no particular interest 
as yet in any fixed locality. On this and succeeding days in our search for a 
I 
