THE CONDOR. 
Bulletin of the Cooper Ornithological C ub. 
A Bi-Monthly Exponent of Californian Ornithology. 
Voi. 3. No. 3. Santa Clara, Cal., IVIay-June, 1901. $ 1. 00 a Year 
A Season With the Golden Eagles of Santa Clara Co., Cal. 
By Rollo H. Beck, Berryessa, Cal. 
With photographs by the author. 
W hile reading this evening in the 
September-October Condor of 
the editor’s wanderings among 
the birds, my thoughts instinctively 
wander back tomemories of spring-time, 
and to happenings that befell me while 
in quest of the aeries of Aquila chrysae- 
tos, familiarly known as the Golden 
Eagle. As the pocket-worn note-book 
opens what different scenes are re- 
called! The first note under 1900 was 
written in the shade of a tall old pine 
from which I had just descended with 
two fresh eggs, while the eagles sat on 
a fence a mile away acro.ss the canyon 
and enjoyed the magnificent scenery, 
not knowing of my presence. 
Under date of March 8, my second 
entry, my thot’s are turned to a spot 
miles away. After climbing for hours 
up a steep mountain side surrounded by 
fog and wet clothes, the nest is found 
torn down, but as I slide and scramble 
down, with regrets for the long climb, 
back to the wagon, an eagle flies from a 
nest in a small sycamore in the bottom 
of the gulch but a few rods away. The 
hills are so steep, that a careful inspec- 
tion is made with the aid of glasses at a 
distance of forty yards and the nest is 
seen to be lined with fresh leaves and 
ready for eggs. With high hopes I re- 
turned to this nest a week later and 
found the bird sitting on a limb of a 
near-by oak contemplating the nest 
which still contained the fresh lining, 
but no eggs. 
On the 9th of March with an early 
start my third nest was reached about 
noon. It was located forty feet up in a 
small oak, surrounded by a tangle of 
poison oak and other bushes. Owing 
to the steepness of the hill a good nega- 
tive was obtained of the bird on the 
nest at a distance of 60 feet, by using 
the long-focus lens. This picture and 
set of two eggs but partially recompen.se 
me for all the time and trouble neces- 
sary to obtain them. Had it been the 
eagle’s picture instead 'of ^ Western 
Horned Owl’s, which occupied the nest, 
the recompense would have been ample! 
But one gets used to these things after 
they happen every few days .through 
the season. 
At four o’clock that afternoon I sat 
eating my lunch a quarter of a mile be- 
low an eagle’s nest built in-a white oak 
on another steep hillside. This nest 
was 75 yards below the old nest which 
was situated in a lofty sycamore and 
visible for miles. While .debating 
whether ’twas worth while to climb up 
to such an exposed nest, the male bird 
