ORNITHOLOGIST 
0 OLOGIST. 2i£s-*£^ 
$1.00 per PUBLISHED BY FRANK B. WEBSTER. Single Copy 
Annum. Established, March, 1875. jo Cents. 
VOL. XIII. BOSTON, MASS., JUNE, 1888. No. 6. 
A Visit to Crane Island. 
BY GEO. G. CANTWELL. 
For some time past, it has always been my 
great desire to pay a visit to a great rendezvous 
of birds near Minneapolis, Minnesota, known as 
Crane Island. 
This is a small island, comprising about ten 
acres, and is situated in the upper part of Lake 
Minnetonka, which lies about fifteen miles from 
this city. 
The island has very steep banks, but when 
once on top, it is found to be almost level and 
covered with a very tall growth of elm, bass¬ 
wood, and weeds growing thick and rank every- 
'iere. 
3n the seventh of May, 1S86, a companion 
and myself boarded a train for the lake, 
equipped with a small sized trunk full of cot¬ 
ton, with the necessary climbers, straps, etc.i 
bent on reaching this island if possible. We 
arrived at the lake in the evening, and found ac¬ 
commodations in a summer hotel which had not 
yet opened for the season, but where the pro¬ 
prietor and his family live the year around. 
We did some tall thinking that night, and 
dreamed of wading over our ears in eggs. At 
daybreak we were up, but alas! it was raining 
hard and blowing a gale, making it impractic¬ 
able to make the distance of a mile and a half 
to the island in a small rowboat. We contem¬ 
plated spending the whole day on the island, 
but as it was, we found we must be contented 
with half a day, for the wind continued till 
noon, but it stopped raining soon after break¬ 
fast. In the meantime we found plenty to do, 
as it was in the middle of the migrations, and 
secured many valuable skins. Evening 
Grosbeaks were very common that day as well 
as many species of Warblers. We found some 
eggs of the earlier breeders, and an unfinished 
nesting place, each of Yellow-bellied Woodpeck¬ 
er (Sphyrapicus -Darius), and a White-bellied 
Nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis ). 
Soon after dinner we were on our way to the 
island, and were delighted at the birds going 
and coming, for they proved to be Great Blue 
Herons (Ardea h erodia s). and Double Crested 
Cormorants (Phalacrocorax dilophus ). On our 
near approach, great numbers of the birds 
could be seen sitting on the dead limbs, the 
Cormorants looking like so many Crows, and 
the Herons balancing themselves as best they 
could. At this they seemed awkward, as they 
are not “ built that way.” They generally 
alight by falling all in a heap in the leafy part 
of the tree, and after a good deal of fuss find a 
comfortable perch, and tie their necks in a bow- 
knot and sit and sun themselves until another 
Heron comes flopping along and accidentally 
gives him a “poke” and puts his centre of 
gravity out of position. 
After a good deal of trampling among the 
small branches for a foothold and several coarse 
“ honks,” the other flops into another tree top. 
Once on the island our spirits rose, for the 
trees were full of huge nests, almost all of 
which were worn and weather-beaten, and 
bleached almost to whiteness, as this place has 
been the breeding place of Herons and Cormo¬ 
rants ever since our “ oldest resident ” can re¬ 
member. An adjacent island was formerly 
yearly occupied by a pair of Bald Eagles, but 
with the advancement of population they left 
a few years ago. 
In numbers the Herons predominated, and 
they occupy a particular part of the island, 
while the Cormorants have the other part. The 
“ line” seems very distinctly drawn, for in the 
Heron part no Cormorants were found, and 
vice versa. The greatest harmony seemed to 
prevail between the two, and on the “ line ” 
both are found breeding in the same tree. 
There must have been upwards of five nests 
on the place, and in one tree I counted fourteen. 
Not a large part of the nests are inaccessible, on 
Copyright, 1888, by F. H. Carpenter and F. B. Webstek. 
