Nov., 1915 
FROM FIELD AND STUDY 
235 
Scaups, 17. A week later six young Ruddy Ducks were seen, so at least two species 
are nesting in the park. The presence of the Scaups in considerable numbers and the 
late lingering of the Baldpates is of interest.— W. A. Squires, San Francisco, California. 
Western Bluebird Nesting in Los Angeles. — Dr. Miller’s notes on the Western Blue- 
bird ( Sialia mexicana occidental is) in a recent Condor recalls some old notes of my 
own. In 1892 a pair of this species persisted in trying to nest in a mail box on the cor- 
ner of Solano Avenue and Buena Vista Street (now called North Broadway), Los Ange- 
les. The birds considered the mail box a wholly suitable place, but the mail man and 
the owner objected. In spite of the resulting discouragements several eggs were laid 
before the Bluebirds gave up the site. I have forgotten the number laid, but I had one 
in my collection for several years and I am under the impression that they laid a com- 
plete set before abandoning the site. — W. Lee Chambers, Eagle Rock, California. 
The Hermit Warbler in Berkeley. — The Hermit Warbler ( Dendroica occidentalis) 
has been reported from Berkeley, California, but once, and that was thirty years ago, 
in 1885 (Belding, Land Birds of the Pacific District, 1890, p. 215). It may therefore be 
of interest to know that on May 10, 1915, I found one feeding with a flock of Townsend 
Warblers ( Dendroica townsendi) in the oaks near our house in Strawberry Canyon. On 
May 11 a large flock made up mainly of Townsend, Pileolated, and Yellow warblers 
sheltered several Hermit Warblers, and on May 12 the songs of the Townsend and 
Hermit warblers were heard more frequently even than that of the Pileolated Warbler, 
which was already nesting in Berkeley, though many others seemed to be in the migrat- 
ing flock. The last Townsend Warbler was heard on May 17. 
The month of May brought several other pleasant surprises, due, no doubt, to the 
continuous rains during the first part of the month. On May 11 the notes of a belated 
Robin reached me twice, and on Commencement Day (May 12) I was awakened in the 
early morning by the song of the Long-tailed Chat. — Amelia S. Allen, Berkeley, Cali- 
fornia. i 
Scaup Ducks Breeding in Golden Gate Park, San Francisco. — In the summer of 1914 
Dr. Otto Westerfeld, of San Francisco, told me that he had come across a young brood 
of Scaup Ducks (Marila sp.?) while strolling along the border of one of the lakes in 
Golden Gate Park, and was much surprised to find this duck breeding there. 
Following up his report I made it a point to visit the park this season (1915) for 
the purpose of ascertaining if this species was breeding there again. While one or two 
adult Scaups were in sight at the time of my last visit, in July, there were no indica- 
tions of their nesting, and upon questioning the man who has charge of feeding and 
looking after the ducks and geese in the park I was informed that no Scaups had bred 
there this year. But on that day I met an old friend — Mr. Stanley Forbes, a life mem- 
ber of the California Academy of Sciences, — who was practicing fly-casting at the club 
platform on Stow Lake, and mentioned to him my quest. He was interested in the 
duck question, and together we remarked upon the number of families of Mallards 
(Anas platyrhynchos ) of all sizes, from a few days old to two-thirds grown, that were 
on the lake and even in sight as we were talking. 
Some weeks later I met Mr. Forbes on the street and he informed me that only two 
or three days after our meeting in the park he was again practicing on the lake when 
two or three families of Scaup Ducks appeared, the ducklings being apparently but two 
or three days old. He stated that the youngsters did not seem to thrive, as many 
lagged listlessly behind their mothers, and subsequent observations led him to believe 
that few, if any, survived for any length of time. Being absent from San Francisco for 
some weeks after the first meeting with Mr. Forbes above mentioned, I had no oppor- 
tunity to carry on personal observations; but I will say that this gentleman’s word is 
to be relied upon as far as concerns the breeding of one of the two species of Scaups; 
yet, as he only knows them both as “Bluebills”, he could not say which of the two it 
was. However, as the breeding in this latitude and locality of either species is a rec- 
ord, I beg herewith to submit the case as it stands. — Joseph Mailliard, San Francisco, 
California. 
