6 THE AUDUBON BULL Ee Gy 
several fish houses and picks up the catch of the commercial fishermen. 
It was a fine morning and I enjoyed the trip down the great expanse of 
Charlotte Harbor. 
The pelicans are apparently aware that the shortest distance between 
two points is a straight line, but it is rarely the course of a boat in the 
harbor or adjoining sounds. Even in a skiff with a draft of only a couple 
of feet or less, the pilot usually follows (to me invisible) channels. This 
system of continually changing course applied to the “run boat” even 
though there were no apparent obstructions for miles in any direction. 
The conversation of the skipper and engineer, both of whom have been 
cn the boat for years, was most interesting and instructive. They patiently 
answered the hundred landlubber questions I asked them. Most of these 
concerned boats or sea life, particularly sharks and porpoise. We saw 
Pelicans on Bird Island 
several schools of the latter, always entertaining as they follow closely 
along the side of a moving boat, which they frequently do. 
Tuesday, April 15. — A definite change has taken place in the rela- 
tionship between the least terns on the channel post. Most of the scream- 
ing is now done by the female, while the male is working feverishly to 
feed her. When he brings her a fish, she brazenly grabs it and scarcely 
swallows it before she begins screaming for more. What a difference 
after four days of courtship! 
This date will be remembered as the day Peter Cooper walked, or 
attempted to walk, on the water. Peter is the 11 year old son of Mr. 
