2 14 NATURE STUDY. 



Mere accident ; this saved the brood. Did the mother fear 

 for her brood at that time ? When I last visited her I took 

 another part>' of friends to see the five fledglings. She 

 was covering them when we arrived, but though we were 

 ver}^ quiet, the ordeal was too much, and she withdrew, 

 trying to allure us to follow her, as she spread her appar- 

 ently crippled wings, and walked jerkily away. About 

 five miles away, in another more dense wood, I found a 

 second oven-bird's nest with four egg's in it — my first had 

 five — and this was two weeks later in brooding. 



July 5 found us exploring Queen City Park at Burling- 

 ton, Vermont. As we had but two hours in which to 

 explore, we felt well repaid in seeing or hearing, the paru- 

 la, pine, blackburnian, the yellow, the chestnut-sided, and 

 black-throated green warblers, Maryland yellow-throat, 

 the goldfinch, sparrows, and other birds common about 

 here. Then a redstart revealed her nest to us, with ap- 

 parent unconcern, as she settled down into the pocket 

 fastened closely to the side of the gray birch, about fifteen 

 feet up. Onl}^ the tip of her beak and a bit of her tail 

 were to be seen. 



This reminded us of our bird and nest of May 29. 

 While our nest was in a pasture, this one was swaying 

 above the sparkling waters of I^ake Champlain. Truly 

 our ej^es find that which we seek. 



A later date, July 11, found us on our way from Quebec 

 to Roberval by rail. Our midwa}^ stop at noonday is 

 made at L,ake Edward, where there is a half hour's wait. 

 A vast wilderness ; trees, mountains on all sides, and just 

 here a beautiful lake, one of a chain, along the shores of 

 which winds the railroad, for miles and miles the only link 

 with civilization. 



Lonely ! In July. What in December ? This collec- 

 tion of about five houses, at one of which is served a mid- 

 day lunch to travelers, was the only pretence for a stop. 



