eee tO BO: Nip Bg oe Ea Tele N 9 
'Cranetown' at Reelfoot Lake 
By FRANK A. PITELKA 
Photographs by Reed W. Fautin 
INTRODUCTION. Reelfoot, the earthquake lake in northwestern Ten- 
nessee, offers many opportunities to the midwestern ornithologist who 
seeks adventure, yet cannot journey too far from home. The region 
of Reelfoot Lake supports a decidedly varied bird life, since habitats 
such as river and lake margins, marshes, cypress swamps, mature 
floodplain forest, and climax beech-maple forest can be visited within 
a few miles of each other—not to mention ‘‘man-made” habitats. The 
chief attraction, however, is the expanse of aquatic and semi-aquatic 
habitats and the water and marsh birds which congregate there. Ob- 
servations of these have been made particularly by Ganier (2, 3, see 
appended list of references) and to a lesser extent by Crooks (1). 
Recently Maslowski (4) published a short account, accompanied by 
some excellent photographs, of a visit to “‘Cranetown.’ Ganier’s 
paper treating the water birds in particular (38) includes a map and 
excellent description of the area. 
Interest in Reelfoot Lake, other than that of biologists, who study 
its rich and varied plant and animal life, is centered on its history, 
and the region is endowed with numerous legends such as the bear- 
hunting exploits of David Crockett in the early 19th century. The 
lake is of comparatively recent origin, having been formed by the 
New Madrid earthquake in 1811-12. It is 12 miles long and 5 miles 
Scene in "'Cranetown,'" April 17, 1938—Cormorants', Ward's Herons’ and Egrets’ nests. 
