38 THE SAUD U BION) 3B U EE ESN 
Bird Life of a Roadside Marsh 
By Atrrep M. BAILEy 
The Illinois prairies are dotted with small marshes of a few acres in 
extent, and many of these swampy places border highways. In the early 
spring they resemble small lakes, but as the vegetation grows, the water 
disappears from view, and an area of luxuriant vegetation is all that re- 
mains, to the casual observer, to set the area aside from its surroundings. 
I had an occasion to observe the bird life of one of these little marshes 
two years ago while photographing birds, and was amazed at the wealth 
of marsh forms nesting so close to the main highway. Along Roosevelt 
Road, due north of Hinsdale, was a marsh of three or four acres with 
water of approximately two feet in depth. I made my first visit on May 5 
and found the dead tules so dense that they hid the water. At the west 
end, however, there was a sheet of open water, and along the border, 
among the dead growths I found three nests of the Pied-billed Grebe, one 
Photo con M. Bailey 
PIED-BILLED GREBE ON NEST 
