Transcribing the field notes of the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology

Collector: Grinnell-1925 Location: Mineral, 4800 ft. Date: June 19 Page Number: 2479

and the structure is ensconced in a tangle of dead twiggery in part supported by slanting ceanothus cordulatus stems - in a thicket of same - well shaded by green leafage above.

9:30 a.m. - Just followed a Ruby-crowned Kinglet's "yerruping," and found a pair upon the summit of a fir assaulting vigorously a Blue-fronted Jay. Nearby, a (female) Western Tanager was flying about and at another jay in the top of a fir. One of the Blue-fronted Jays seen plainly was a full-grown young-of-the-year.

10: a.m. - Mrs. G. just found a Yellow Warbler's nest, 8 feet up, saddled on crossing stems in midst of willow thicket on meadow - perfectly typical site and construction for the species. Contents, 2 fresh eggs.

10:45 a.m. - Across the highway from camp, on a portion of Battle Creek Meadows that has had no cattle on it yet this year; grass and flowers a foot high; blue camas abundant in places; here and there clumps of willow; and many lodgepole pines, singly now and then, or in tracts. Birds I hear are: Western Meadowlark, two in full song; Robin, 2 or more in song; Lazuli Bunting, 2 singing; Warbling Vireo (one singing); Audubon Warbler (a (female) close by in a l-p pine); Calif. Purple Finch (one singing); Junco (one singing); Traill Flycatcher (pair close to me, and Mrs. G has seen one carrying a billfull of something into the midst of a willow thicket and in investigating); Lincoln Sparrow (a singing male centers within 3 acres about us).

Collector: Grinnell - 1925 Location: Mineral Date: June 23 Page Number: 2493

Mt. Chickadee (2); Western Tanager (5); Fox Sparrow (2); Chipping Sparrow (18); Hermit Warbler (3); Tolmie Warbler (1); Calaveras Warbler (1); Warbling Vireo (8); Calif. Purple Finch (4); Wood Pewee (13); Lazuli Bunting (3) Pileated Warbler (1); Spotted Sandpiper (2, along sparsely pebbled margins of creek); Traill Flycatcher (1); Yellow Warbler (2); Robin (29+, one seen carrying mud up to nest 50 feet above and on lowermost branch of huge yellow pine); Cassin Vireo (1); Audubon Warbler (7); Blue-fronted Jay (1); Turkey Vulture (2, one circling above vicinity of store (?), and one above woods at this end of the meadow) Brewer Blackbird (1, [female symbol] bathing and preening, as if just off nest); Pine Siskin (1); Ruby-crowned Kinglet (2); Canada Nuthatch (1); Crossbill (1, loud "chup" note heard from tips of yellow pine, given persistently, until bird flew, and also then); Killdeer (2); Meadowlark (2); Sierra Creeper (1); Western Bluebird (2); Western Lark Sparrow (1, [male symbol] singing volubly from well up in yellow pine at edge of meadow); Wright Flycatcher (2); Olive-sided Flycatcher (1); Solitaire (1); Pygmy Nuthatch (2, in different places, in upper parts of large yellow pines); White-headed Woodpecker (2); Modoc Hairy Woodpecker (2); Red-winged Blackbird (1+, heard from willows along stream, far out in meadows); Cassin Purple Finch (2, mating pair).

Total, for 1 1/2 hrs., 8:15-9:45: 38 species, 133 individuals.

1 p.m. Still at west end of Battle Creek Meadows. Have heard a Black-headed Grosbeak singing, and a Red-shafted Flicker. Just saw a Black-tailed Jack Rabbit (Lepus c. californicus) lope up the hill thru the snow bushes, from

Collector: Grinnell - 1925 Location: Mineral Date: June 26 Page Number: 2499

glandular abdomen and hence sitting) from bole of red fir about 60 feet up. It was actively pecking at the fissured bark and dislodging tufts of the conspicuous yellow lichen which grows profusely on the trunks of some of the trees. Saw also a Red-breasted Sapsucker, and punctured red fir in the vicinity. Can hear from this point: Solitaire, Tanager, Olive-sided Flycatcher, Mt. Chickadee, Canada Nuthatch, Warbling Vireo, and Audubon Warbler. Saw a [female symbol] Calliope Hummingbird at snow-plant (Sarcodes); these plants now coming up commonly under red firs and of brilliant colors.

6265 Arctic Three-toed Woodpecker [male symbol] testes [illustration] [therefore long past functioning] wt. 73.5g.; iris dark hazel brown. Note "spurious" outer ^^(?) tail feathers!

6266 Hammond Flycatcher [male symbol] testes [illustration]; wt. 10.2g. [see p. 2497].

6267 Pileolated Warbler [male symbol] wt. 7.1g. [see p. 2497].

6268 Lutescent (?) Warbler [female symbol] jv. wt. 7.8g. [see p. 2498].

5:00p.m., at camp: collected a set of four eggs 4/4, nest and female parent, of Wright Flycatcher. Rim of nest 1130mm above ground; nest on nearly upright stem of snow-bush, supported in part by accessory twiggery; 600 mm. more of snow bush, living leafy branch, above nest. Site in sea of snowbush on gently sloping hillside; two tall cedars 75 feet away, nearest trees; but firs and pines farther away. Eggs nearly fresh;

Collector: Grinnell - 1925 Location: Turner Mt., 6300 ft. Date: July 3 Page Number: 2518

chaparral there); I looked for sign and listened for Conies in the rocks along the rim of the cirque, but unsuccessfully, tho there was plenty of sign of Bushy-Tailed Wood Rats among the rocks.

Down the trail, within the red fir belt (Canadian Zone), which does not go much below the 5500 foot contour, on the north side of the mountain, noted, both going and coming: Sierra Grouse (a [male symbol] flushed from near the top of a red fir spire and, with set wings, shot down the steep north slope); Mt. Quail (one heard in chaparral); Solitaire (one in full song, and another seen foraging among logs and about bases of trees); Western Tanager (2 or more); Canada Nuthatch (one); Ruby-crowned Kinglet (2, in song); Robin (2, singing); Audubon Warbler (one, singing); Hammond Flycatcher (2, in red firs); Warbling Vireo (one, singing in patch of white alders).

The trail up Turner Mt. from the south edge of Battle Creek Meadows, to about the 5500-foot contour, goes thru [sic] typical transition. A conspicuous floral element there, not seen on the Mineral side of the Meadows, is the Nuttall dogwood, now getting past blooming. There is a little black oak, lots of Ceanothus prostratus low down and of C. cordulatus farther up; conifers: Douglas spruce, yellow pine, incense cedar, sugar pine, and white fir. Noted the following species of birds ^^{in this belt,} going up 12:45 to 3:00 p.m., or coming down, 7 to 8:15 p.m.: Hermit Warbler,

Collector: Grinnell - 1925 Location: Mineral Date: July 3 Page Number: 2519

Audubon Warbler, Calaveras Warbler, Sierra Hermit Thrush, Western Robin, Mountain Chickadee, Western Tanager, Fox Sparrow, Modoc Hairy Woodpecker, Pacific Nighthawk (at dusk). Going across Battle Creek Meadows through Gerber's (?) ranch, saw a [male symbol] Western Evening Grosbeak about a cow-corral, about as a Linnet would behave in a lower zone.

6283 Eutamias senex [male symbol] 79g. 232x98x34x17. Testes large. Shot from fir log overgrown with snowbush, at 5500 ft., on north side of Turner Mt.

July 4 - blank!]

July 5 11 a.m. - Up Viola trail, at about 5600 ft., at willowy edge of cienaga. Warbling Vireo's nest and 3 fresh eggs and female parent taken: rim of nest 12 ft. 2 in. (measured) above ground near end of slanting, spindling will [sic] stem - willow clump in shade of firs and sugar pine. Nest located by following up volubly singing bird, which proved to be on the nest, but left, and was replaced in degree of solicitation by bird which was shot.

Spent the forenoon on the ridge up the Viola Trail, going not higher than 5600 ft., however. Started a [sic] 8 and got back about 12:30. The last few days birds have become notably quieter. Very few are singing now at all. Earlier, I got to know individual birds along the trail, by the location of their "singing trees." But for