May 6, 1947, 12-mile Swamp, Bruce Sta., Benton Co., 1315-1600, $/10 φ Warm, breezy WHATTA DAY! WHATTA DAY! American Egret - we hardly arrived at the swamp when one flew in front of us from the south, and lit at the north end. We flushed it off and on, all afternoon, and could still see it when we left the swamp at 1600. Blk legs - yellow bill. Lesser Canada Goose - Tom flushed just one from the north part of the swamp. It may have been the one Dave and I flushed about a month ago, but it seemed to be in apparent good health, while the one we saw was not. Mallards - approximately 18 in the area. Pintails - a pair were seen, and possibly others. Teal - female unidentified - just one. Wood Ducks - 2 pair seen, and 2 single males as well. Vulture - several circled over the area. Crows were chasing one, and Redwings were chasing another one. Marsh Hawk - a female over the field east of the swamp, chased by Redwings, and Brewer Blackbirds. Sparrow Hawk - 2 circled over the field on the east side of the swamp. Bobwhites - along the highway home. Pheasant - heard one crowing. Virginia Rail - "cornered" another pair of them, and found a small downy black young about the size of the one caught on April 22, 200-250 feet away. Banded with size #3, 41-354647. Both parents scolded and "chipped" their mandibles together while we banded the young. Black ring on bill, but no "egg hook" present. At first it tried to swim away, and then as I came close it "froze" among the spike-rush with head how to the water. Killdeer - two different pair seen that seemed to have nests that we couldn't locate. Yellow-legs - 2 or 3 were seen and heard here and there over the swamp. Long-billed Dowitchers - a pair seen at a distance, and then closer, and white area on back and rump was plain. Plumage was richly colored, chestnut-like. Mourning Doves - 2 pair were seen. No nests were found. Flicker - one seen Violet-green Swallow - quite a few over the area. Tree Swallows - more of these than the former species. Barn Swallows - several pairs were seen, and one pair was found with a nearly completed nest under a porch roof on the cabin wall. It is mostly of mud, cup-like, and attached to the wall along one side. Some grass stems woven into the nest, and finer grasses in the lining, with some feathers. Cliff Swallows - over the swamp area. Crows - calling and a few flew over the swamp, 2 chasing a Vulture. Tule Wren - one pair close to us as we located nests, and one scolded us from a foot or two from us (near our feet) while we looked in one nest. It was at 4' in the open to the north and east, in a Spirea, and I found another nest at 5' in spirea about 6 feet away. Both nests were empty. Cassin Vireo - one heard by Tom Lutescant Warbler - calling Yellow Warblers - a few calling Pacific Yellowthroat - quite a few in the brush and ash, and along the fencerows. Long-tailed Chat - Dave and I heard a call from a willow-ash-spirea clump in the swamp that might well be this species, but we didn't get to see it, so we won't back it up too energetically! Meadowlark in fields by the swamp Yellow-headed Blackbird - M & F - male flew from fence row across the road not 15 feet in front of me, and into the swamp. We saw him from time to time all the rest of the afternoon, and heard about 3 different call notes from it. It fed in the smartweed close to the water, and occasionally took to the air to catch an insect the way redwings do. Plumage was in pretty bad shape, but still quite brilliant, for redwings chased it. We watched it hold its own against one redwing, however. Dave spotted the female on a leafless limb in the fence row by the road, near where the M had first flown from. She was a rich dark brown, with yellow on face and breast. No mistake. The nest we found last-week that "keyed" out to this species was completely torn up when