THE OSPREY. 



133 



hurrying across the field I found him standing beside 

 a nest containing seven eggs, while near by lay the 

 Duck — a female Pintail — which his chance blow hart 

 brought down. Not many, surely, can boast of killing 

 a Duck on the wing with a stick. Many a time I 

 have vainly thought to do this myself while beating 

 up a nesting ground where the Ducks lie close before 

 struggling up suddenly with startling rush and flutter 

 within tantalizing reach of the hand. 



The nest of the Pintail was sunk slightly in the 

 ground among the wheat stubble and lined wholly 

 with stubble straw and down from the breast. I do 

 not remember ever before to have seen a Duck's nest 

 composed entirely of material so coarse. In this case 

 the stubble appeared to have been pulled up by the 

 root — not plucked or broken off. 



The lad pointed out to me a tussock of grass in a 

 strip of prairie adjacent that, he said, concealed a 

 nest and eleven eggs of the "Spoonbill," which is 

 the local name for the Shoveller Duck ; and he 

 claimed to have captured the Duck in his hand off 

 her nest the day before. I do not doubt his statement 

 for, on essaying the feat my-self, a couple of tail 

 feathers as the result of a grab a little too far to one 

 side proved that the trick might have been done, and, 

 in fact, I have succeeded in catching the Blue-winged 

 Teal on her nest in the same manner. 



The nest was set on the ground in the midst of the 

 tussock and thoroughly well constructed with well 

 defined rim, lined with dried grasses and some few 

 dead leaves and plentifully supplied with down from 

 the breast ; the eggs, of characteristic creamy tint, 

 being somewhat incubated. I have known a nestful 

 of eggs of this species to be so profusely covered up 

 with down as to escape the eye entirely, even when 

 looking down directly upon it from above. 



On reaching the coulee work opened briskly. First 

 I found a set of seven Short-eared Owl's. Then fol- 

 lowed soon a set of five slightly spotted Marsh Hawk. 

 Next while splashing round in the shallows I poked 

 into a thick bunch of buUrushes growing shoulder 

 high and was proceeding laboriously, the feet tang- 

 ling painfully in the almost impenetrable mass be- 

 neath, when, with a sharp "squak," up rushed a 

 Red-head from her bulky nest of green bullrushes 

 built over the water, slightly lined with fluffy white 

 down, and displaying six polished eliptical eggs of a 

 creamy-drab tint. Now this was in no way remark- 

 able and the loss of this structure and contents would 

 hardly seem to justify any demonstrations of distress 

 out of the ordinary ; but in fact for the space of fully 

 ten minutes that was the busiest Duck I have ever 

 seen. Straight up in the air she went to a height of 

 perhaps 50 feet, than at a sharp angle and with a 

 rush she struck the water with a splash and as quick- 

 ly rose again and came straight at my head. Swerv- 

 ing aside she made a wide circuit and then back 

 at me again and circled closely round my head fully 

 half a dozen times and repeatedly came almost with- 



in reach of my hand. This not having the effect ap- 

 parently hoped for she flew to dry land some 50 yards 

 away and rapidly waddled over the ground for a 

 short space, but this ruse also failing she hurried 

 back to the open water and falling clumsily in, with 

 a splash that sent the spray in every direction, flopped 

 about in the craziest manner possible — sometimes 

 rushing rapidly through the water with the aid of her 

 wings — sometimes swimming dizzily in a narrow circle 

 with body half submerged and appearing altogether 

 crippled — and again, proceeding in a series of clean 

 jumps for several yards. And so were these tactics 

 repeated, again and again, with never so much as an 

 instant's rest until my departure. 



Later on in the season I took a set ( ?) of tioenly-Jive 

 eggs from a profusely down-lined nest of the Red- 

 head ; and something in the way of a demonstration 

 commensurate with the gravity of this loss might 

 have been cheerfully overlooked, but the behavior of 

 the owner was stoical compared to that just described. 



After lunch and a restful smoke in a clump of elm 

 and box elders — the spot where I had, some days be- 

 fore, found the Swainson's Hawk nesting. I explored 

 a piece of last year's flags grown thick with this year's 

 nettles and just overtopping my head. A Baldpate 

 left her nest hurriedly and dropped into the water 

 near by, making a curious and unusual little clucking 

 sound. Her nest was completely typical, planked on 

 the surface of the ground, well rimmed up and liber- 

 ally supplied with down, but the vegetable matter 

 employed was so much decomposed by the underlying 

 damp that I did not attempt to save it. The nine 

 eggs were of a clear, translucent appearance. 



Some half a dozen miles from here lies Graham's 

 Island covered with heavy timber. This was formerly 

 called Whistlers' Island, from the great number of 

 Whistlers (American Golden-eye) that found nesting 

 sites in the hollow trees. A few pairs nest there still 

 and this year there were taken for me eight perfect 

 sets. In each case the nest was located in a hollow 

 elm and, with one exception, not exceeding thirty rods 

 from the lake. The elevation of the nesting holes 

 varied from 8 to 18 feet and the diameter of the trees 

 from 16 to 24 inches. 



Two nests despoiled on May 17 were immediately 

 re-occupned and second sets taken on June 7, one of 

 which, composed of eleven eggs, showed a slight 

 trace of incubation. On a visit to the nesting trees P 

 noted that fragments of the white breast down being 

 caught at the rough edges of the holes seemed to 

 offer fairly good evidence of an occupied nest within. 



A German farmer near by, who, though absolutely 

 unlettered, is still a keen observer, told me he had 

 seen a female of this species transport her entire 

 brood to water, carrying them one by one in her 

 mouth. 



One of the residents on the Island told me that a 

 pair of Whistlers had made use of a hollow box elder 

 tree within 40 feet of his stable for several years. 



