134 RIVERBY . 



probably by some boys in the neighborhood. The 

 past season, in April or May, by watching the mo- 

 ther bird, he found the nest again. It was in a 

 marshy place, several acres in extent, in the bot- 

 tom of a valley, and thickly grown with hardback, 

 prickly ash, smilax, and other low thorny bushes. 

 My friend brought me to the brink of a low hill, and 

 pointed out to me in the marsh below us, as nearly 

 as he could, just where the nest was located. Then 

 we crossed the pasture, entered upon the marsh, 

 and made our way cautiously toward it. The wild 

 thorny growths, waist high, had to be carefully dealt 

 with. As we neared the spot I used my eyes the 

 best I could, but I did not see the hawk till she 

 sprang into the air not ten yards away from us. She 

 went screaming upward, and was soon sailing in a 

 circle far above us. There, on a coarse matting of 

 twigs and weeds, lay five snow-white eggs, a little 

 more than half as large as hens' eggs. My compan- 

 ion said the male hawk would probably soon appear 

 and join the female, but he did not. She kept 

 drifting away to the east, and was soon gone from 

 our sight. 



We soon withdrew and secreted ourselves behind 

 the stone wall, in hopes of seeing the mother hawk 

 return. She appeared in the distance, but seemed 

 to know she was being watched, and kept away. 

 About ten days later we made another visit to the 

 nest. An adventurous young Chicago lady also 

 wanted to see a hawk's nest, and so accompanied 

 us. This time three of the eggs were hatched, and 



