34 JOURNAI^ OF MAINS ORNITHOI.OGICAI, .SOCIETY. 



Notes from Lancaster, N. H. 



1 think "The Disappointments of 1909" would be an appropri- 

 ate title for my article, for, familiar as I am with the many failures 

 and disappointments of the collector, the past season seemed about 

 the limit in this respect. I used to have good success with the 

 Northern Pileated Woodpecker, some seasons taking several sets of 

 their eggs, but for the past four years I have not been able to col- 

 lect a perfect set. This year three nests yielded me no treasures, 

 two nests containing young when found and the other being hope- 

 lessly beyond reach in a huge birch. 



Next in order comes the Hudsonian Chickadee, which I found 

 nesting for the second time, nest containing seven eggs on the point 

 of hatching. This nest was in a decayed spruce stump in a swamp 

 grown over with low bushes and a few scattering tamarack and 

 spruce trees. The nest was about three feet from the ground, in a 

 cavity six inches deep, composed of a quantity of rabbit fur and 

 shreds of green moss, very warm and soft. The birds were extremely 

 tame, and I could almost touch them as they hovered about wdiile I 

 explored the nest. This nest was located within fifty yards of one 

 found in 1908, from which I secured a fine set of seven eggs. 



For the past four years a pair of Wilson Warblers have inhab- 

 ited a small swamp about a mile from my home, and I have spent 

 many hours watching the birds and hunting for their nest, much 

 of the time wading in cold water, ankle deep. This year I entered 

 the swamp more determined than ever to find the nest and secure 

 the treasured eggs, and on my first trip, after a long and careful 

 search, I found the frail little structure on top of a small, grassy 

 knoll among thick bushes, but there were no eggs at this time. I 

 immediately left the vicinity and did not return for a week, at 

 which time there were two eggs and the birds were singing close 

 by. Four days later the nest contained the same number of eggs 

 and the birds were singing, as usual, but were not on the nest, and 

 on returning two days later I did not hear the customary song and 

 approached with some misgivings. No birds were near, and I did 



