THE WILDERNESS IN JUNE 251 



who knows him well calls him the "crazy bird." 

 North of the clearing, and traversed by the 

 trail to First Pond, is a tract a score or more 

 acres in extent, where several years ago fire 

 killed the timber. A thick second growth of 

 birch, wild cherry, alder, etc., has sprung up, 

 above which rise stark and bare many stubs, 

 relics of the old forest. Here the Woodpeckers 

 find favorable feeding and nesting ground, and 

 also many followers of this family of wood cut- 

 ters who take advantage of the generosity of 

 such skilled workmen. Not only do the Hairy, 

 Downy and Flicker nest here, but Chickadees, 

 Nuthatches and Bluebirds have taken posses- 

 sion of the well-cut holes, evidently finding 

 them quite suited to their needs. 



Very soon after arriving here my attention 

 was attracted by a faint chorus of squeaks 

 coming from the direction of a dead birch on the 

 edge of the clearing. A brief search revealed a 

 clean-cut hole, some forty feet from the ground, 

 from w^hich issued the sounds. Soon with a 

 shrill "perk, perk,'' the father of the family, a 

 Hairy Woodpecker, came bounding up with 

 beak well laden with choice grubs, paused for an 

 instant just beneath the hole to look at me, then 

 with a note of reassurance to his waiting brood, 

 disappeared into the hole. At his. entrance the 

 faint cries instantly developed into hungry calls. 

 Soon out he came and, with a farewxU "perk,'' 

 disappeared into the forest. Almost immediately 

 came the female, also with a goodly bunch of 

 grubs, and again the cries increased to a din 

 while she fed the eager nestlings. 



