Long Island Bird Notes 



By John Lav is Chi Ids 



THE season's nesting on Long Island seems to have been abundantly 

 successful. Two good covies of Quail on my farm at Stony Brook 

 disappeared during December and were not seen again until May when one 

 covey returned and four or five pairs bred on the premises. Quail have 

 apparently done well in other localities. The severe wind storm of May 

 2ist and 22nd destroyed nearly every bird's nest about my lawn at Floral 

 Park. Robins, Yellow Warblers, Catbirds, Song and Chipping Sparrows 

 alike suffered, most of their nests being wrecked. A pair of Song Sparrows 

 had a nest in a box bush near the house. The violence of the wind upset 

 the nest and the five young perished on the ground. A Robin's nest was 

 blown out of a favorite position in a crimson rambler rose arbor. A nest of 

 the Yellow Warbler in a clump of spirea atirea was badly damaged, but the 

 birds repaired it and raised a brood. Another Yellow Warbler's nest near 

 by located too high up to permit of close scrutiny brought forth only a Cow- 

 bird. The head of the greedy fellow was frequently observed sticking out 

 of the nest, and later he was observed in the nearby trees accepting food 

 from his trim little foster parents. I had a strong desire to shoot him, but 

 did not. 



Grasshopper Sparrows have been very abundant in and about Floral 

 Park, and a pair of Orchard Orioles nested here, the fiist in many years, in 

 fact the second record. 



Sparrow Hawks again nested just outside the village limits, inside the 

 enclosure of Belmont Park racetrack, where the small boy could only cast his 

 longing gaze through the iron bars of the fence. The House Wren, known 

 only to nest here last year, was again with us. Two or three pairs possibly 

 breeding. Starlings were very abundant, occupying every available cavity 

 in all old decaying trees. A superb nest and set of five fresh eggs of the 

 Meadow Lark was taken in the village limits on July 25th. An English 

 Sparrow made her nest among the branches of a rambler rose hedge, so firm- 

 ly and securely that it could not be easily removed. A teaspoonful of cay- 

 enne pepper put into the nest did not phase the old bird in the least and incu. 



