Sept, 1914 
SURVEY OF BREEDING GROUNDS OF DUCKS 
227 
GRIDLEY, BUTTE COUNTY, CALIFORNIA 
One day, May 25, was spent on the Noyes Gun Club grounds in Sutter 
County, just west of the Marysville Buttes. The next three days we camped 
on the grounds of the Gridley Gun Club in Butte County, which joins the 
Noyes Club on the north. Where Butte Creek enters the Sacramento Eiver 
bottom it divides into a number of sloughs, and during high water large areas 
of the adjacent lowlands are flooded. The sloughs are lined with reeds and 
tules in which Mallards and Shovellers are known to nest. A growth of timber 
along the creek affords nesting sites formerly occupied, as we were told, by 
Wood Ducks, while the grass-covered flats near the sloughs furnish nesting 
sites for Cinnamon Teal and Pintail. Northwest of the Marysville Buttes are 
extensive mud flats covered with grass. During migrations these flats become 
loafing grounds for geese, and it is here that geese are said to be seen at the 
proper seasons in greater numbers than anywhere else in the State. During 
the late spring and summer these same flats furnish excellent breeding grounds 
for such ducks, like the Pintail, which nest at some distance from water. 
Abundant food is to be found in the nearby sloughs and ponds where there is 
heavy plant growth. 
Anas platyrhynchos. Mallard. A nest well concealed in tall sedge and 
found on a small island on May 26 contained one infertile egg and egg-shells 
from which the young had hatched. A brood of young discovered on the 25th 
were fully ten inches in length and the primary wing-feathers were just start- 
ing. Members of another brood, found on the 27th, were not more than seven 
inches in length. When diving to escape capture they would often cling to the 
weeds beneath the surface, and when finally forced to come to the top for air 
would expose to view the top of the bill only. They tried to escape by simply 
diving and clinging motionless to weeds more often than they attempted to 
swim long distances under water. 
Mallards were the commonest ducks in the vicinity of Gridley. Most of 
them were seen in pairs, but not a few lone males were noted. Hatched egg- 
shells and broods of downy young showed that many of this species were 
already through nesting. Those seen in pairs were doubtless the latest of the 
nesters. 
Dafila acuta. Pintail. While crossing some grassy fields the auto in 
which we were riding startled a Pintail from her nest situated within two 
inches of the wheel tracks. The nest was typical, being built of grass and lined 
with down. It contained ten eggs (see fig. 66). Although we dragged with a 
rope several acres in the vicinity of this nest we were not able to locate an- 
other. A shepherd told us that he had discovered a number of nests to the 
westward of this place. Prom the numbers seen the Pintail must be a fairly 
common nesting duck on the “goose grounds”. 
Querquedula cyanoptera. Cinnamon Teal. In this vicinity I should say 
that the Cinnamon Teal ranked about third in abundance, the Mallard coming 
first and the Pintail second. But one nest was found. This contained nine 
fresh- eggs and was situated on the same island on which the Mallard’s nest 
with hatched eggs was found and only about six feet from the latter. The 
nest was unusually well concealed in tall sedges, there being an arched run- 
way from the water to the nest, the distance being but little more than one foot. 
There was no down, or other lining. 
Other ducks. — A number of Shovellers {Spatula clypeata) were seen, but 
