Читать книгу Birds of Manitoba - Ernest Thompson Seton - Страница 60

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Uncommon summer resident, of erratic distribution; common summer resident in all Red River Valley; not noted by me anywhere in the Assiniboine region; observed during our passage down the Red River to Pembina (Coues). Pennawa River, September, 1887 (Hind). Winnipeg: Summer resident; tolerably rare (Hine). Red River Valley: Summer resident; common at Shoal Lake, township 16, range 3, east (Hunter). Portage la Prairie: 1884; rare; summer resident (Nash). South slope of Riding Mountain, on Little Saskatchewan River: In the marshes herons, cranes, and bitterns were disturbed in groups (Hind). Occasionally seen, but not very common; shot on Swan River, April 28, 1881; not observed breeding (Macoun). Breeding in numbers on Riding Mountain (Green). Qu’Appelle: Tolerably common; summer resident; breeds; arrives May 6 (Guernsey).

My summer of 1880 was spent in the Northwest Territory of the Dominion. The 20th of July last found me in the Duck or Riding Mountain, at the headwaters of Bird’s Tail Creek, about 51° north, and on the one hundred and first meridian. These mountains are covered with a dense forest of tall poplars and birch and thick underbrush of hazel and raspberry, making it impossible to get through without cutting a trail in advance. This 20th of July was a very hot day. We had started at 6 a.m. with a train of thirteen heavily loaded carts, and by 11 a.m. had made about 3 miles, when a very peculiar noise saluted our ears. Knowing this forest to be full of bears, we at once came to the conclusion that we were in the vicinity of a family (sisters, cousins, and aunts) of those affectionate creatures. The train was ordered to halt while the chief of the party and myself went forward to prospect. As we advanced the noise grew louder and louder, till we called a council of two to decide what had better be done—face the enemy or draw on our reserves and advance in full force. While deliberating, the chief happened to cast his eyes heavenwards and the mystery was explained. We had struck a heronry; hundreds of these birds were passing to and fro; and on going forward a hundred yards or so we found the tops of the poplars covered with their nests, the young birds, full grown but not able to fly, perched on the highest branches of the trees. Here in the heart of a dense forest, probably never trodden by man before, were thousands of nests of our common Blue Heron (Ardea herodias Linn.) We cut down several trees and captured the young, which were cooked and eaten by some of our men with relish, probably because it was the first fresh food for three months. The nests were made of the small dead branches of the poplar and were placed as near the tops of the trees as possible. I kept two of the young birds alive for a few days, when, becoming able to fly, they took their departure.

These mountains are full of small ponds and bottomless marshes, which swarm with lizards and small fish, on which the herons feed, and on getting to an open space near the herony we could see the old birds coming and going in every direction. Those coming home were stuffed to the bill with food for their young, making them present a very ungainly figure, as they lazily flopped their way towards the woods. On pushing our way through this mountain forest, we discovered three good-sized lakes, about one-half mile wide, and from 1 to 2 miles in length each. We tried them for fish, but only caught a few common chub.