10 THe Ue DAUR ELOEN BULLETIN 
That afternoon found us on a trip to Black Lake in special quest of 
warblers. Large numbers of nighthawks over a marshy area put on an 
acrobatic display. An injured American golden-eye was retrieved by a 
solicitous boy. One group made a circle through Onaway State Park 
searching for warblers. A fossil hunt along the lake was another diver- 
sion. Petoskey coral is the characteristic formation of this region and 
several unusual specimens were collected. A tiny red-backed salamander 
was found in a rotten log. We delayed our arrival back at camp at dusk 
to listen to the evening concert of the thrushes in a sparse evergreen 
wood. The singers were too wary to be seen. In the sandy soil, in 
company with trailing arbutus and sweet fern, an orchid was in bud. Two 
days later we were disappointed that it had not yet opened but we could 
be sure it would be a yellow lady’s slipper. Ordinarily the orchids would 
have been in bloom at this date. 
On Saturday morning a 6:00 A.M. bird trip revealed a good repre- 
sentation of the common warblers with Tennessee warblers dominant. The 
main wave of migration had moved northward and birds that had left the 
Chicago region were still abundant there. Many of these would be residents 
in this area. 
After a hearty breakfast our group scouted around the lake on our 
own. The most exciting find was five woodcock. The three young were 
seen running with wings raised high above their bodies but did not try 
flight. We were delighted with the flowers, particularly with fringed 
purple polygala, the rare white polygala, gold thread, marsh marigold, 
and tiny violets of both yellow and blue. 
That afternoon on a trip to Lake Huron shore birds were seen. A 
spectacular flight of hawks showed a predominance of broad-wings, with 
ospreys, pigeon, marsh, red-tailed, and Cooper’s included. The estimate 
was a hundred seen in two hours. 
One stop was to see the experimental traps being prepared for lamprey 
eels. The eels were not running yet because the water was still too cold. 
A deer hunt in the evening turned out to be a twilight walk. 
The evening meetings in the mess hall were a review and comparison 
of the day’s experiences. The first evening Homer Roberts taxed his 
knowledge of Michigan geography by placing on a wall map a flag for 
each town represented at the campout. Chicago’s flag was well off the 
prepared map. The fiag for a visitor from Chile was placed at the floor. 
The second evening colored slides of birds and wild flowers were shown 
and a film by the county agent showed a campout of boys the preceding 
summer and their instruction in conservation. This summer a girls’ camp 
will also be held. 
The mess hall was the focus of each day’s meetings and visiting around 
was enlivened by such loot as a grass snake, a red-bellied snake, a milk 
snake, and a beautiful tree toad. One evening as we left the mess hall 
the northern lights shot white banners across the sky. 
A review of the day’s findings was especially valuable at this campout 
because these observations would begin the compilation of a bird list for 
