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lake - Clear Lake.

Bull frogs are very abundant at both Stinking Lake and Horse Lake; water dogs also in all the lakes, a great food for the herons.

WATERFOWL ENEMIES.

Those birds that nest out of the water at Stinking Lake have little chance of hatching their young. From the great number of nests that I find that have been destroyed, I conclude that few hatch their young out of water.

Skunks are very abundant all around the lake, prowling in the grass along the shores in broad daylight. They, I believe, are the most serious enemy to nests. Badgers are common and they too are bad after eggs. Coyotes are abundant here and their tracks every place in the mud and through the grass indicate that water is not all they seek. Fox tracks are also common and a duck hawk? occasionally swoops down for a bird. There are some very small snakes, but I believe these do no harm, as they feed upon the frogs, as bull frogs are rather common. Abundant in places often fifty yards from shore in the short grass.

I had located a duck nest containing five well incubated eggs 100 feet up on the mountain side, east side of lake. I went back two days later to get the mother duck, which was rather tame, and to get photo of nest and eggs. A skunk, I presume it was, had just beat me, and eaten the eggs, and scratched the nest to pieces. I had decided this was a redhead's nest. The nest was in thick shin oak brush, made of leaves, with breast feathers among them. I find many nests out in the sage brush that have likewise been destroyed. The alarming part is the valuable birds suffer most.

DUCKS.
Aug. 21. The ducks here have got me pretty well balled up by their conduct