70 
THE CONDOR 
Vol. XI 
carry thru the idea to a successful conclusion, if it is to be undertaken. It now remains to be 
proven just who among the Condor readers really are interested in the project to the extent of 
being willing to do some work; and the only way in which this may be found out is for those 
students to make themselves known and to publish their ideas on the subject for the benefit of 
other interested parties. There are undoubtedly many Condor readers who do not wish their 
ideas to appear in print, but who are nevertheless in sympathy with the general idea. If that is 
your position, dear reader, drop a few lines to the editors, just to inform us that you are inter- 
ested. 
An undertaking of this kind is unique in many ways. It will require the personal opinions 
of a great many before the plan assumes any definite shape, and it rests entirely with the read- 
ers to bring about results. This cannot be a one-man, or a ten-man undertaking, for unless the 
plan meets with general support it would be impossible of accomplishment. 
Naturally we look to the members of the Cooper Club for the greater number of expressions 
on the subject, and the past record of the Club for “doing things” warrants the assumption that 
they will respond; but it is to be hoped that responses will not be limited to Cooper 
Club members. 
Noiv , bird lovers, is the time to drop us a line outlining your views upon the subject and if 
the correspondence overwhelms our worthy editor we will try to arrange for a private secretary. 
— R. B. Rockwell, Denver , Colorado. 
Random Bird Notes from Chaffee County, Colorado. — On July 15th I left Salida, Colo- 
rado (altitude 7050) , for a short trip to timberline, my destination being Bass Lake, a typical alpine 
lake at an altitude of about 11,000 feet. 
In the vicinity of Salida, Western Robins, Red-winged and Brewer Blackbirds, House 
Finches, English Sparrows, Western Vesper, and Western Savanna Sparrows and Black-headed 
Grosbeaks were very common. One pair of Kildeer were also seen, that were evidently nesting. 
About seven miles from Salida I saw several young Mountain Bluebirds just able to fly, and a 
little further on (at about 8,000) several Magpies were seen. Camp was pitched at Ponclia and 
the next morning, soon after leaving there, I saw several Desert Horned Larks and a Brewer 
Sparrow on a sage brush covered mesa. From here on, the country is very rough, the hills rising 
abruptly and no timber occurring except the cottonwood trees in the creek bottoms, until the top 
of the mesa is reached which is covered with a heavy growth of pine and spruce. 
About five miles above Poncha I saw several Broad-tailed Hummingbirds in a small patch of 
thistles and a little farther on a Green-tailed Towhee. After a long steady climb we reached 
Garfield, Chaffee County, twenty miles from Salida and at an altitude of about 10,000 feet, and 
here I saw Gray-headed Juncos and English Sparrows feeding in the streets of the town. 
We arrived at Bass Lake about five p. M. and found a very pretty lake, just at timber line, 
surrounded by very high mountains. From this spot half a dozen peaks in sight were over 
14,000 feet high. 
On the 17th I flushed a Gray-lieaded Junco from a cunningly concealed nest under the edge 
of a juniper bush. It contained four young about a week old. I saw a number of these birds 
around the lake but found no other nests. Near here in the down timber and rocks I found one 
small White-tailed Ptarmigan chick, and one Rosy Finch feeding on the shores of the lake. 
Three Clarke Crows were seen near the lake and on the return trip the only new bird seen was a 
fine Western Tanager.— John W. Frey. 
Unusual Wave of Western Tanagers. — Beginning April 16, 1908, there was witnessed in 
this county a flight of tanagers (Piranga ludoviciana) which seemed most remarkable for this 
section. 
The birds were noted most commonly about a mile north of Auburn, passing by the hun- 
dreds in a westwardly direction. The sexes appeared to be evenly divided, tlio as they flew from 
tree to tree it was the bright colored males that attracted the attention of the passer-by. At my 
ranch, seven miles north of Auburn, the birds were not as numerous, but for two or three weeks 
they kept moving leisurely westward. As cherries ripened they lingered in nearby pine trees, 
flying back and forth to the cherries between shots from the auxilliary. Shooting appeared not 
to decrease the numbers, and it was July 7 before the last bird left. Just how far west they went, 
and why they took this course, direct from their breeding grounds, would be interesting to 
know. — Ernest Adams, Clipper Gap , Placer County , California. 
