38 PHECAU-DIUIB.O NeB UC Esa 
screaming call of the Barred Owl, which is also common. Along the 
White River are found many species of birds nesting which are rare in our 
region. ‘Chere we found four pairs of Hooded Mergansers nesting. Wood 
Ducks also nest there. A colony of Great Blue Herons, Mallards, ‘Teal, 
Scaup Ducks and Pintail also nest in the siscos and backwaters. One 
morning on a canoe trip I saw my first Pileated Woodpecker. On this 
particular trip, one hundred miles downstream to White Lake, one hundred 
and three species of birds were identified. “hat first night, as we sat about 
our campfire on a high bluff overlooking the river, the Great Horned Owls 
and Barred Owls came close to our camp to see what sort of animals were 
disturbing the peace of their haunts. Within a few feet of our beds, Whip- 
poorwills were calling from the woods. Along the White River we 
found Prothonotary Warblers nesting, the first record from that part of 
Michigan. Water-thrushes, Black and White, Myrtle and other warblers 
nest there. About the camps Phoebes, Pewees, Least and Crested Fly- 
catchers, Yellow-throated, Warbling and Red-eyed Vireos, Scarlet Tana- 
gers, Baltimore Orioles, Ovenbirds, Field, Chipping and Song Sparrows, 
Towhees, Tree and Bank Swallows, Wood ‘Thrushes, Catbirds, Brown 
Thrashers, Robins, Bluebirds, Nuthatches,. Woodpeckers, Doves, Gold- 
finches, Waxwings, Cardinals, Cuckoos and many others are found nesting. 
One bird that was common and particularly interesting to me was the 
Ruffed Grouse. One morning while sitting on a stump in the heavy brush 
on the edge of a creek, watching a doe and her little spotted fawn drink- 
ing, I heard a clucking sound and turning my head slightly, saw an old 
grouse and nine partly grown young eating blueberries. 
Snakes, turtles and other reptiles are also found in abundance, as are 
insects. [hese are just a few of nature’s woodfolks that the boys have 
a chance to know and get acquainted with. And do they do it? “They 
certainly do. Each camp has a naturalist who is well versed in natural 
history and his duty is to run a scheduled nature study course with a pro- 
gram of classes every day so the boys can learn their requirements or work 
on their merit badges. It is my belief that when a boy has a chance 
to study wild life in its natural haunts, at his leisure, he really becomes 
interested in wild life and its conservation. ‘This is not advertisement 
for Owasippi. “Che camp does not need it. “This is simply to give you 
some idea of the opportunity given the Boy Scouts if they really want 
the training and knowledge. Who knows but that one of these boys may 
be a future Ridgeway or Seton or Audubon? 
