Page:Condor16(6).djvu/6

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248 THE; CONDOR Vol. XVI This storm eontinued, and the eold was so intense that a thin lee formed on the small still pools, making the trip to the rookery impossible. No Snowy Heron were seen, but a few White-faced Glossy Ibis were noted, and in as mueh as the Snowy Heron precede the Ibis from a week to ten days, it is reasonable to suppose, that they too were somewhere present. Bear River Marshes, April 23, 1912.--Snowy Heron rookery visited. Many nests eompleted, but no eggs. Number of birds noted indicated about thirty pereent inerease. Blaek Sloughs , Salt Lake County, May 25, 1912.?Dr. D. More Lindsay a?d Morton Cheeseman brought'us the information that they had found both the Snowy Heron and the White-faced Glossy Ibis breeding at our old stamp- ing grounds in the Blaek Sloughs; so Edward Treganza immediately set out to aseertain the size of this new eolony. About fifty pairs of Snowy Heron and one hundred pairs of Ibis were found nesting together, all the nests being newly eonstrueted in the young tule growth. This is the first reeord we have of the breeding of this bird south of the Bear River, Boxelder County; for each year sinee 1903 we have thoroughly worked the marsh country of Salt Lake County, espeeially that portion traversed by the overflow of the Salt Lake Drainage Canal, and known as the Black Sloughs. 1913.--This year we deeided not to disturb the Snowy Heron in either the old or new eolony, but three times we went close enough to the rookeries to note a marked inerease in numbers. Bear River, Boxelder County, Utah, May 2, 1914.--This date found ns in the marsh eountry destined for the rookeries. Within half a mile we noted a number of Snowy Herons rise at our right, whereupon we immediately seeured a boat and set out to make investigation. We nosed into the dense tul. e growth to moor our boat, and had just started to break our way. With the first eraekle of the reeds, head after head was seen to rise, long eane-like necks stretched up for inquiry, pure white birds, and in close proximity an irideseent blaek one; the Ibis with their eurved bills looking for all the world like quaint old Jews, lacking but speetaeles and a skull cap. Another breaking of reeds, and the whole eolony rose en masse, a worrying eonfusion of wings and squawks and dangling legs; and for once we were actually eonvineed that white was black and blaek was white, so confounded were Heron and Ibis. This colony eovered an area twenty yards wide by one hundred yards long, and contained no less than one hundred and fifty pairs of Snowy Heron, and about one hun- dred pairs of White-faced Glossy Ibis. All of the Ibis nests and many of the Herons' were under eonstruetion, while some of the latter eontained four to five fresh eggs. Having traversed this portion of the marsh at least onee an- nually, we were surprised to find this new and larger eolony, for previous years it contained only ducks and a very small eolony of Blaek-erowned Night Heron. All the nests were constructed of the growing reeds and rushes. Though quite dense, there was little matted down growth of years previous, thus mueh resembling the site of'Black Sloughs, Salt Lake County. Bear River Marshes, Boxelder County, May 9, 1914.---This day we were in quest of Long-billed Curlew. Neither old or new heronry was visited, but many birds were seen circling above the marsh. Bear River Marshes, Boxelder County, May 16, 1914.--The new eolony of Ibis and Heron was visited. All the Heron nests now seemed to be occupied by sitting birds on full clutches. No nest was found to contain more than five eggs, while about thirty pereent contained only four.