September 25, 1948, Grey Lodge Refuge, 0900-1430 PDST, Clear, warm, N 3-8, John Cowan P.O. Box 655, Gridley. (2600 acres) John tells me of the nesting: Mallards, mostly, Pintails, Gadwall-few,Cinnamon Teal-125 pairs, Shoveller-2 or 3 pair, Redhead-2pr, Ruddy's present-nest? Avocet and Stilt nest here. Pied-billed Grebe - many seen, and they would"fold-up" to submerged. Watched one steal a small Centrarchidae from another one. The fish was about 2\frac{1}{2}" long, and 1\frac{1}{4}-1\frac{1}{2}" deep. The grebe took it and swallowed it head first, flat side down-up Eared Grebe - one pair in near-winter plumage seen. Western Grebes - 2 different sets of 4 birds on one large pond. Each set had 2 adults and 2 youngbirds. More seen elsewhere during the p.m. White Pelicans - not over a dozen seen. Most had pink bills and fuzzy heads. Cormorants - Farallon - yellow pouches very showy this time. In pond with W. Brebes Coots, Pied-billed Grebes, Redheads, and Pelicans. Great Blue Herons - must be 30-40 adults and immatures on the area. American Egrets - few singles, and we saw 3 flying over 500 feet altitude. Snowy Egrets - just 1 seen. Anthony Green Heron - just 3 seen all day Least Bittern - flushed individually from the Scirpus. American Bittern - just one flushed Black-crowned Night-herons - none seen over the refuge till 2 p.m. when I found a heavy concentration at the west end of the "loafing pond". I'd estimate there were between 150-200 individuals. I could see over 50 perched on the Scirpus from one position. I flushed them by waving, shouting and clapping. Before I did this they sounded like a chicken-yard full of hens the way the chattered among themselves. This is the most I have ever seen. Contrasting these with the ones on the Sacramento Refuge where they perched in the taller willows, etc., at the edge of the ponds. White-fronted Geese - 15-20 seen. Others heard. John says they just came in the other day. Mallards - not many seen in the a.m, but this p.m. I flushed 100's in waves as I did the pintails in the a.m. Must be 2000 in the area. Baldpates - just 3 seen. First arrivals, as John hadn't seen them before this yearr. Pintails - 1000's present, and flushed this a.m. Few males in full plamage. Must have been 5000 in the area. Gadwalls - few seen Green-winged Teal - not over 50-100 seen. Cinnamon Teal - still many present. Must have seen over 750 today. Many males full. Shoveller - few seen. Wood Duck - 1 male in full plumage flushed from open water channel in Scirpus. Redheads - 4 immatures swimming close to cöots in open pond, at edge close to Sagittaria. Ruddy Duck - just 3 or 4 seen. No full males. Turkey Vultures - none seen on way up here, and none seen till about 930 a.m. Many seen over area. Two feeding on dead jack rabbit. White-tailed Kite (Elanus leucurus majusculus) - first ones I have ever seen. John took me to Porter's Pond where he knew they hung out. Seems they are quite sedentary in habits. The lst one I saw was perched in the dead top of a \frac{1}{2}-live willow with a Crow just 10 feet away, in the same tree. This bird soon flew low over the open area and served upward to perch on a dead willow tree, where the mate was already perched. Their habitat, here, seems to be scattered willows and cottonwoods, with mostly open marshy, or dry land in which it hunts. John says that from food pellet analysis they eat about 95% Microtus. Their nesting site this year was at a height of 11 feet on the SE side of one small willow adjacent to another willow, these two then being in a large open area. The nest was of flimsy structure. John banded 5 young birds, the adults would dive at him, tho never hitting. In the afternoon, both birds were present in the same area, but soon left when I walked thru their area. I did not see them again. They look just like the Black-winged Kite of India, that I saw at Karachi in 1945. Cooper Hawk - one adults flushed from the ground at the edge of the road. We could find no prey, but we did flush a covey of Valley Quail, which it may have been after Sharp-shinned Hawk - a couple were seen. [illegible]