THE CONDOR.
Bulletin of the Cooper Ornithological Club,
A BI-MONTHLY EXPONENT OF CALIFORNIAN ORNITHOLOGY.
Vol. 3. No. 3. Santa Clara, Cal., May-June, 1901. $1.00 a Year
A Season With the Golden Eagles of Santa Clara Co., Cal
BY ROLLO H. BECK, BERRYESSA, CAL.
With photographs by the author.
While reading this evening in the September-October CONDOR of the editor's wanderings among the birds, my thoughts instinctively wander back to memories of spring-time, and to happenings that befell me while in quest of the aeries of Aquila chrysaelos, familiarly known as the Golden Eagle. As the pocket-worn note-book opens what different scenes are re- called! The first note under 1900 was written in the shade of a tall old pine from which I had just descended with two fresh eggs, while the eagles sat on a fence a mile away across the canyon and enjoyed the magnificent scenery, not knowing of my presence.
Under date of March 8, my second entry, my thot's are turned to a spot miles away. After climbing for hours up a steep mountain side surrounded by fog and wet ciothes, the nest is found torn down, but as I slide and scramble down, with regrets for the long climb, back to the wagon, an eagle flies from a nest in a small sycamore in the bottom of the gulch but a few rods away. The hills are so steep, that a careful inspec- tion is made with the aid of glasses at a distance of forty yards and the nest is seen to be lined with fresh leaves and ready for eggs. With high hopes I re- turned to this nest a week later and found the bird sitting on a limb of a near-by oak contemplating the nest which still contained the fresh lining, but no eggs.
On the 9th of March with an early start my third nest was reached about noon. It was located forty feet up in a small oak, surrounded by a tangle of poison oak and other bushes. Owing to the steepness of the hill a good nega- tive was obtained of the bird on the nest at a distance of 60 feet, by using the long-focus lens. This picture and set of two eggs but partially recompense me for all the time and trouble neces- sary to obtain them. Had it been the eagle's picture instead of a Western Horned Owl's, which occupied the nest, the recompense would have been ample! But one gets used to these things after they happen every few days through the season.
At four o'clock that afternoon I sat eating my lunch a quarter of a mile be- low an eagle's nest built in a white oak on another steep hillside. This nest was 75 yards below the old nest which was situated in a lofty sycamore and visible for miles. While debating whether 'twas worth while to climb up to such an exposed nest, the male bird
