28 THE AUDUBON 5 UEDEEN 
Photograph by A. M. Bailey 
THE AMERICAN EIDER ON HER NEST 
subjected to raids for about the same length of time. “The Provancher 
Society secured title to these islands, hired a warden to protect them, and 
since then the birds have been given the opportunity of rearing their 
young in safety. 
The two rocky islets, known as the Razades, are the main breeding 
places of the American Eider, with a wonderful concentration of breeding 
birds. Several naturalists counted six hundred and seventy-nine occupied 
nests in June, 1931, and an equal number of Herring Gulls. 
My visit to this region was a hurried one, but several trips were made 
to the Razades with Dr. Déry, that I might make records of the Eider on 
motion film. It was a fine clear day that we made our first excursion, 
with a westward wind kicking a slight swell on the broad St. Lawrence. 
An Osprey hovered over our boat for a few moments and then headed 
for L’Ile Aux Basques, where, doubtlessly, it was nesting, while Herring 
Gulls circled about us, as though awaiting for food. We saw many Eider 
upon the river, including a few of the handsome males, although the 
majority had long since departed—to wherever male Eiders go. ‘They 
seem to have the right idea of life; they develop their romances to the 
