Page:Condor6(6).djvu/28

 Nov., I9O41 THE CONDOR 69 Wyoming. While the region is not mountainous the flora and fauna certainly tend toward mountainous forms. On the whole it is perhaps the most interesting section of the state for bird work. Nearly every summer a party of Nebraska bird people spend some little time there in studying bird life and collecting bird skins. As yet, however, owing to the distance from the center of ornithological activities the region has not been thoroughly worked. With the exception of two weeks in February of 896 the work done has been confined to late spring and early sum- met time, thus leaving nearly all of the spring and all of the fall migrations uu- recorded. When these and also the winter residents are thoroughly known it is safe to say that the geographical range of many species will be extended and that a number of species will be added to the already large Nebraska list. The topography of the section is peculiar. Hat Creek valley, which com- prises a large part of the county, is bordered on the south and west by high bluffs, and is about one hundred miles across. During the summer it is about as dry and hot a place as one would care to be in. Except along the almost dry water courses there is scarcely any vegetation to be seen. The geological formation in some parts of the valley is much like that of the famous Bad Lands of South Dakota. In the section on the northwest side there is considerable sage-brush and other vegetation. In the dryer parts the common birds are the Say phcebe and the Arkansas kingbird. In the sage-brush section bird life is more numerous; good sized bands of sharp-tailed grouse and an occasional bunch of sage grouse will be seen. Other species, in all about thirty, make their homes there. As we come nearer to the blnffs the entire nature of the country changes; the streams are rather thickly bordered with shrubs and other plants, water flows the year through, and bird life also becomes more abundant. As we follow one of the little creeks into the canyon from which it emerges we are more and more impressed by the entire change of the surroundings. The walls of the canyon tower in places almost perpendicularly 500 feet, and where not too steep they are covered with a scattering growth of yellow pine, the fallen leaves of which cover the ground so thickly that it is exceedingly difficult to climb the side of the carlyon. The bot- tom of the canyon is filled with a dense growth of trees and under-brush, and if it were not for an occasional path, traveling there would be very difficult. The trees are very similar in speeieslo those found throughout the canyon region of the Rocky Mountbins and comprise such forms as the quaking asp, juniper, poplar, black birch and many others that need not be listed. After following the many turns of the stream for three or four miles the summit of the bluffs is reached, and again the flora changes. The ground is covered with a thick growth of range grass; no bushes nor trees can be seen except a pine or two at the head of the can- yon. Looking backward we see below us the dry, parched, Hat Creek valley ex- tending as far as the eye can see toward the north and in the far distauce can be discerned the fairlt blue line of the Black Hills over a hundred miles away. By those who know California Coast Range conditions it will be seen that only iu respect to the canyons are the two localities similar. The Hat Creek valley corresponds to the fertile Pajaro Valley so famous in the state. The vegetation is entirely different; redwoods replace pines and many other plants are jnst as differ- ent. Climatic conditions are also very different; in Nebraska it is not uncommon for tile temperature to drop as low as 40 degrees below zero, in the Pajaro valley eo degrees above zero is about as cold as it ever gets. But let us look at the bird life. In this comparison I have included only those birds on which I have secured notes. The California list covers a much longer time than that of Nebraska, from