May, 1916 
A VISIT TO HAT AND EGG ISLANDS 
123 
For a mile or more we heard the dull booming farewells of the pelicans as they 
arose in concert, presumably rejoicing at our departure. 
During the entire evening, and until darkness settled over the lake, we 
saw a large number of small flocks of the Wilson Phalarope. In fact, one or 
two flocks of these birds were always in sight, either swimming in the water 
or skimming along through the air, occasionally- executing that maneuver 
that resembles the flashing of a scimitar as the whole flock suddenly and in 
concert changes the course of its flight. The swimming birds were evidently 
feeding upon refuse floating on the lake, contributed, very probably, largely 
by Bear River. 
We arrived at Egg Island about 3 a. m. after a trip that was for the 
most part uneventful, so uneventful that practically no headway was made 
for an hour or so during a calm. Egg Island is a small island about ten rods 
long and four rods wide, located about a mile and a half west of the north 
end of Antelope Island. It! is simply the eroded remains of a ridge of hills 
that runs under the water, and is formed by the upturned edges of the very 
resistant quartzite beds. This island is practically barren of all vegetation. 
A few gulls were found nesting here, and likewise a few Great Blue Herons. 
There is nothing to add by way of narrative or description of these birds as 
they were found on Egg Island, except that the nests of the heron were placed 
on the ground instead of in bushes as was the case on Hat Island. 
The special object of interest and also of our visit to this island was the 
Double-crested Cormorant ( Phalacrocorax auritus auritus) . Of these there 
were between five and six hundred individuals on and around the island. The 
nests of these birds were rather artistic. They are six or seven inches deep 
and about eighteen inches across, and are composed of sticks of a uniform size 
carefully woven together and cemented with white excrement resembling 
lime. 
The eggs are a greenish blue in color and vary from three to five in 
number. The breeding season of this cormorant was the earliest of all the 
birds that we saw on the trip, and extended over a comparatively long period. 
This was apparent from the presence of partially completed nests, eggs in 
all stages of incubation, and young birds fully as large as adults and likely to 
be able to fly within a short time. 
The day, May 17, was very stormy, and in consequence our visit to Egg 
Island had to be curtailed. In fact, three days were required for the home- 
ward journey ; but this is another and very different story. 
Pocatello, Idaho , February 10, 1916. 
NESTING OF THE TOLMIE WARBLER IN YOSEMITE VALLEY 
By MARGARET W. WYTHE 
I N THE summer of 1915, responding to the call of the mountains, I spent 
a few weeks in Yosemite Valley. Arriving there in the early part of June 
my visit lasted through a large part of the nesting season in the Valley. 
Hence one of my chief pastimes became the quest for nesting birds. 
It was my good fortune to find sixteen nests between June 12 and July 1. 
