Page:Condor14(5).djvu/22

 176 THE CONDOR Vol. XIV water and plunged across them gallantly. In fact, on one occasion he elected to take a rest in mid-stream much to our surprise and discomfiture. When within about a mile of Forni's I relieved Iffeinemann of leading the burro while our official photographer and Littlejohn hurried on to the cabins to prepare the evening meal. Being fairly well acquainted with the locality and finding the road, which now headed across a boggy meadow and around a swampy Shallow: lake, al.m0st impassable, I struck out over a heavily timbered ridge. After some trying experiences I finally reached the cabins at a quarter to eight. Here our fagged-out burro was given shelter in a log barn which we found well-stocked ' with hay. 'With this and With the addition of oats, a delicacy held in high favor by all "Sage-brush Canaries", of which we carried a 25 pound sack, our song-bird fared well. Within, the' alpine dwelling was soon made cheerful by the light of lamps and candles.- With the crackling of a fire and the grateful odor arising from- steaming viands all the hardships of the day were soon half forgotten. As the photo shows (fig. 62), Forni's is situated at the head of a long, glacial meadow at the base of Pyramid Peak. Almost' at our cabin door and fed by the snow. s of pyramid flowed a merry little brook that furnished us with crystal liquid during the day and sang us to sleep with its pleasant hum at night. The first day afield in any region is ever the most enjoyable; and with much expectant enthusiasm, boyish if you will, we arose early next morning and were soon abroad in the pleasant, crispy, sunny atmosphere. As we journeyed down the meadow, retracing our steps of the night before, we saw Red-breasted Nut- hatches, California Creepers, Mountain Chickadees and Sierra Juncos, some of which were engaged in nest building, and as the nest of the White-headed Wood- pecker I had located the night before was found to contain five almost fresh eggs, we rather hurriedly and feverishly endeavored to cover the miles that lay between us, and where the Pine Grosbeaks had been previously seen. Several miles be- fore we came to that now historic spot I came upon another pair billing on the limb of a lodge-pole or tamarack :pine. I immediately gave the pre-arranged signal call and Heinemann and Littlejohn joining me the birds were observed from three different points at once. After some time, however, the pair flew away to a far-off. hillside where all track of them was lost. Neither were we able to find any trace of the pair seen the previous night although we spent considerable time in the vicinity. We lunched nearby at the edge of a hill-top clearing which gave a rare view of the surrounding mountains. Here I spied an Audubon Warbler engaged in building a nest on the perilous end of a long, drooping, fir branch 75 feet up. As we viewdd the nest we all echoed the hope that even with the loss of an opportuni- ty to try 'our various paraphernalia, we much preferred that any nest of the Pine Grosbeak found would be in a more accessible situation. On the way back, on reaching the Forni meadow, Heinemann and Littlejohn went on to camp while I continued to spend some further time afield working the section that lies southeast of the meadow. Here I came upon a male Pine Gros- beak singing in a fir top, and later a pair which, engaged in preening their feathers, I watched for nearly two hours. I felt sure I was unseen by the birds so stealthily had I approached, and when they took flight I was reasonably certain it was the flight of birds who were still roaming about with no particular interest as yet in any fixed locality. On this and succeeding days in our search for a