The Ring-billed colony were several weeks old while appeared to contain complete chicks were just beginning to hatch. dutches, although no young had yet The observation is of interest and latched. Their contain “usually worthy of future field observation to three, sometimes two, very rarely determine if the two will co¬ four” eggs.1 Sixty-two of these Ring- exist in such close proximity. The pilled Gull nests contained four eggs, abandonment of a heron colony at eight had five eggs and one had six Beaver (54° 43’ N, 111° 53’ W) aggs. The remaining gull nests had between 1970 and 1972 supposedly he usual three. Numbers of four- due to the establishment of an and five-egg clutches appear in the colony was reported by significant because they infer a larger Vermeer (Can. Field Nat. 87:427- than normal clutch size rather than 432). the pairing of two females. Other Ring-billed Gull colonies surveyed in 1979 contained abnor¬ mal clutch sizes, but none ap¬ EAGLE/ proached the proportion INCIDENT documented on the Bachelor’s Island polony. SIG JORDHEIM, White Bear, Sask¬ HARRISON, COLIN. 1978. A field guide atchewan, SOL 3L0. to the nests, eggs and nestlings of North American . Collins, New On 25 November 1979, I was on a York. 416 pp. hill overlooking Lake Diefenbaker. At this late date there were still several hundred Geese and on about an acre of open BALD EAGLE NEST IN A water toward the south shore of the HERON lake. 30L0NY I noticed a gathering of on a small island close to the north shore. Through 16X binoculars I noted that J\l. H. KOONZ, Manitoba Dept, of one was feeding on a Natural Resources, 1495 St. James Canada , and four others were Street, Winnipeg, Manitoba. gathered around, hoping to get something for themselves. While they seemed to respect the feeding eagle, On 19 June 1979, while making an they were constantly harassing each aerial census of a other; at one time two of them came solony on one of Lake Winnipegosis’ to grips and thrashed wildly for a Sister Islands (52° 25’ N, 99° 46’ W), moment until one got free and gave :wo observers and I saw two adult Said Eagles close to a nest contain- ground. ng two young eagles. The nest was Then I saw a coyote trotting briskly near the top of the island’s largest toward the gathered eagles, coming :ree, a dead balsam poplar (Populus across the ice from the south side. oalsamifera). I did not see any active On getting closer it broke into a lope, leron nests in that tree although then on reaching the island, with :here were 30 or more active nests in head lowered, hackles up and surrounding trees, some at a dis- swinging from side to side it charged ance of 10 m or less. The eaglets directly at the eagles. darch, 1980. 38(1) 47 The four that had no prey took to that a male Cardinal had beei the air, but not the one with the regularly visiting her feeder. Tw< goose. When the coyote was quite rare birds in one day presented ; close, the eagle jumped right at it, dilemma — which bird should on* and from my vantage point, it looked look for? The only reasonabh as if it actually grabbed the coyote. solution — look for both. Tha There was a lot of action for a brief afternoon I drove out to the Warmai moment; the eagle with flailing wings district with my parents and fount and the coyote struggling to get back several SNHS members looking fo in the direction he had come from. the Whooping Cranes. After ai hour’s search we found them behirn Suddenly the coyote dashed a hill. After viewing the whoopers, w< around the eagle and made a rush continued on to Pike Lake. Te for the goose, but before he could minutes after arriving we wen pick it up, the eagle again attacked and the coyote jumped out of reach. delighted to find the Cardinal emerge from the bushes and feed on th< Now the eagle remained on the ground with some juncos. goose carcass and resumed eating as if nothing had happened. The The Cardinal had first beei coyote meanwhile circled the feeding spotted in the area as early as lat* bird at a distance of perhaps eight July by the Hoytes’ neighbours, Mr feet. Once he tried to sneak up and Mrs. Bell. However, the Cardine behind and grab something, but im¬ was then very elusive and was seei mediately the eagle turned and only occasionally until mid-October struck out with his feet and the From 14-27 October, it visite* coyote hastily retreated. Hoyte’s feeder regularly. During thi period it was observed by man Eventually he lay down some 30 members of the Saskatoon NHS feet from the eagle and waited. In Stuart and Mary Houston attemptei about a half-hour the big bird had his to trap the bird for banding purpose fill and flew away. Immediately the but were unsuccessful. Lawrenc coyote picked up the remains of the Baschak was able to obtain severe goose and trotted back to the south photographs. side and there stopped to eat. The only previous record for th» Saskatoon district was a Cardine observed by Frank Roy and party oi the May Day Count, 26 May 195 CARDINAL AT PIKE LAKE, (Blue Jay, 15:102). Other Saskat chewan observations were mad' east of Yorkton by P. Fraser in Ma 1895 (Blue Jay, 19:142), in Regina b STANLEY J. SHADICK, 810 Main F. G. Bard during summer 1926, ii Street, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Esterhazy by Mrs. Bert Ford durin< S7H 0K3. January 1951 and at the farm horm of Mrs. Ted Scriven on 9 July 195 On 14 October 1 979, the (Blue Jay, 19:77). The last report ii Saskatoon Natural History Society’s Saskatchewan was a male collectei Rare Bird Alert sprang into action at Craven by R. W. Nero and Elme and reported two rare sightings. A on 29 December 1960 (ibid). Th< farmer near Warman had spotted Pike Lake observation therefor three Whooping Cranes. Meanwhile represents the only Saskatchewai at Pike Lake, Laura Hoyte reported report during the last 19 .

48 Blue Ja