GREAT HORNED OWLS 
323 
just hatching-, but the owl flew as he approached. When he 
was halfway up the tree the owl swooped from behind and 
struck him a terrible blow with her talons, tearing his scalp 
quite badly. After this she kept her distance. 
“the young were safely hatched” 
The Great Horned Owls aforementioned next year had 
abandoned their old nesting-site. A sawmill had been located 
on that side of the mountain, and what I feared had indeed 
happened. Climbing and wading laboriously through the 
deep snow early in March, I stood, perspiring and regretful, 
gazing upon the stump of the ancient rock oak which had 
held far aloft the great nest of sticks in which those splendid 
owls had reared their young. Why could not that avaricious 
lumber company have realized that that was an oivl-tree ? 
