Nov., 1919 A RETURN TO ?HE DAKOTA LAKE REGION 22? circled heL maklug a lovely intimate family picture. At some bit of careless- ness on my part on the bank above, however, the mother gave a warning note and the brood swam farther out from shore. On the morning of August 10, when a cold northwest wind had driven all but a few Coots and Ruddies from the south side of the lake, and the water was rough, and foam lay piled along the shore, to my surprise I discovered the pretty Pintail and her downy brood. Not far out, to be sure, but riding the small rollers with such evident satisfaction one imagined them quite capable of ocean voyages! As they rocked over the waves they preened themselves nonchalant- ly, i the spray broke over them, shaking their little heads casually.. Their mother, a good sailor too, preened as she rode, her head back over her shoul- ders, letting the waves roll her as they would. The downy ducklings dived prettnly and on coming up gave a little jump and a shake of the head. But-- what had become of the eleventh? There were only ten, now. Had the family ?lept too near to shore ? There was a strong mephitic odor along the bank. In this same place, when revisiting the lake with our little school boy on September 2, the child, pointing to a group on the water asked eagerly, "What are those 9" adding, "Tl/ey're babies of some kiud," and so they were, four tiny dark ducklings, feeding'on surface water weeds. A Pied-billed Grebe, two female Blue-winged Teal, and a female Ruddy were swimming near them, but no one claimed the little tots and I was at a loss to know whether they belonged to the Teal or the Ruddy. Finally, however, after letting the Teal and the Pied-bill swim around close to the little ones for some time, the Ruddy came ?wimming over all bristled up and chased off a Pied-bill with such an air of exclusive ownership that Solomon himself would have felt quite satisfied. The little school boy watched the proceeding with great interest. When he saw the wondrous blue bill of the Ruddy drake that he had been anxiously looking for, he exclaimed, "Oh, isn't that pretty--that blue bill--Say, but that is pretty!" and when we started home he ejaculated fervently, "I'm glad I came"--a re- mark deeply appreciated, as agriculture in the fascinating form of a threshing outfit to watch had threatened to outrival ornithology. As we walked back through the woods, a northern visitor, a Red-bellied Nuthatch, crossed our path with its autum/ml message. That' was not the first ?leasant surprise I had had in these woods. Two weeks before--on August .17 --a family of three-quarter grown Long-eared Owls had burst out of a tree be.. fore my very eyes, one of them lighting not far away, sitting up parallel to ?he tree trunk which it closely resembled. Its ears were still short and as it low- ered its head, its eyes inside its facial disk had a strained anxious look. Re- treating to another perch, it turned its head around over its back to look at me. Although the middle of the day, its ears were alertly sensitive, for at the sound of Crows or a flock of Ducks passing over, it looked up. From its perch in the sun it again flew to a branch in the shade, and leaned over twisting its head around trying to see me better. But soon its eyes stared wide as if it had to try hard to keep awake, and presently its lids drooped. When I walked up closer, however, it drew itself up very tall and thin, with ears erect like the pictures of protective attitudes, one wing curi- ously drawn half way across its breast helping to narrow its body and make it look more like the tree trunk. When nothiug happened, it relaxed, let itself down shorter, and let go the branch with one furry foot, standing on the other foot ready for a nap.
