52    Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters 
were seen during the census. My only record of a whistling swan 
was one which spent several days on Schmidt's Pond, across the 
river from Faville Grove. It was first seen April 9, 1938. Swans 
formerly were shot in small numbers on Rock Lake. 
Miscellaneous Water Birds. White pelicans were once com- 
mon on Rock Lake, but since 1913, when Mr. Kisow saw "about 
a dozen," none has been seen, to my knowledge. Lesser loons 
are now common in spring, but no longer remain to nest. The 
general opinion of the local naturalists is that the loons left 
when cottages became too plentiful around the lake. One of the 
rarest birds seen locally in many years is the Holboell's grebe. 
Dr. Arthur A. Allen recorded the calls of this bird at Hope Lake 
on May 18, 1937. 
A colony of blue herons have nested for many years in a tam- 
arack swamp bordering London Marsh. Over 100 nests were 
counted in 1936, but how many were in actual use could not be 
determined. 
American egrets since 1930 have been regular visitors to 
the Lake Mills region and due to their striking appearance have 
been more widely noticed by the public than almost any other 
species of bird. It is a matter of record that this species was, at 
an early date, fairly common this far north but was nearly ex- 
terminated by plume hunters. Locally there is no evidence that 
the egret was ever common in the seventy years prior to 1934. 
If the egret had been present it would have been noticed but 
Mr. Ben Crump was the only early settler who reported seeing 
this bird (about 1875). 
In a letter Dr. Schorger writes, "The following note evidently 
refers to the American egret. It was published in the Milwaukee 
Sentinel August 8, 1878, and sent in by its Watertown correspon- 
dent. 'A flock of white cranes have been rendezvousing in the 
river [Rock River] between Sprague's brickyard and Boomer's 
Dam for the past few days. One of these rare and beautiful 
birds fell a victim to the unerring aim of Henry Miller, and is 
now in the hands of the taxidermist, Mr. Sherer, for preserva- 
tion.'" 
Mr. Warner Taylor saw an egret at Mud Lake near Hubble- 
ton on May 30, 1925. I saw one on April 29, 1935, and two others 
during the same week. These are the only spring records coming 
to my attention. Twenty-two egrets were counted on the Craw.