Tragedies of Sandpipers' Nest 223 



from the ground, from the brush-heap, from the trees, and once or twice he 

 worked his way up an alder twig, singing as he climbed. 



It is three weeks today since I discovered the little fellow, and I have 

 observed him intimately. The question is, where, at this late day, did he get 

 the little lady. 



Had he had her secreted in the vicinity even while I was pitying his lone- 

 liness; and was it righteous indignation at incarceration which I witnessed 

 this morning? Or was he so up to date that he brought her here by mental 

 suggestion or concentration, only to find himself soundly berated when she 

 was disillusioned by the chilly air of the New England coast? 



For the sake of the pleasure his song has given me, I wish him success, and 

 I can but beheve that his beauty and talent will win out in his wooing. I shall 

 watch with the greatest interest any domestic developments. 



July 15. I am very glad to add that the Wrens have prospered and have 

 raised two broods. Fortunately they have been unable to secrete their Uvely 

 offspring as effectually as their nest, so I have enjoyed the whole family 

 together. Had they been in any way defrauded of their right to "life, liberty 

 and the pursuit of happiness," one bird-lover at least would have felt deep 

 personal loss. 



Tragedies of Sandpipers' Nests 



By PAUL E. GRAY, Haverhill, Mass. 

 With photograph by Carl H. Morrill 



THE ill luck that befell the two nests of Spotted Sandpipers which I 

 found and watched last summer is, I hope, the exception and not the 

 rule among these graceful shore-birds. A small duck-pond, made by 

 damming up a marshy creek, seems to be a favorite haunt of the Sandpipers. 

 The Spotted nested near it, and the SoHtary and either the Least or the Semi- 

 palmated (I am not certain which it was) paid migratory visits there. It was 

 while sorting out these different species that I discovered the nest of the 

 Spotted. 



Several times early in May two Spotted Sandpipers were seen about the 

 pond. On May 15 I flushed one once or twice in the ploughed ground that 

 borders the pond, and I was suspicious, from the way the bird darted along the 

 ground before taking flight, that a nest might be in the \icinity. A hasty search 

 failed to reveal it, though I must have stepped very near. So I took care to 

 watch the bird the next time it left the pool, and noted exactly w^here it dis- 

 appeared behind the clods of dirt. I followed, and found the nest in a sHght 

 depression in the ploughed ground under the end of a rough, gnarled piece of 

 wood. It was made of coarse roots, grasses, and straws. There were four eggs 

 in it, spotted more heavily on the larger ends, and placed with the smaller 



