72 



THE OOLOGIST 



secluded spot, or tree-top hiRh, we hear 

 those unobtrnsive "Tsips" which mean 

 so little to the unpractised ear, while to 

 the eager ornithologist it brings visions 

 of some new or rare bird. 



Among them there were Redstarts, 

 Maryland Yellowthroats, Black-throat- 

 ed Blue, Black-throated Green, Yellow- 

 rumped, Magnolia, Oven-birds, Chest- 

 nut-sided and Black and White Warb- 

 lers, White-crowned and White-throat- 

 ed Sparrows, Crested and Least Fly- 

 catchers, Catbirds, Bobolinks, Scarlet 

 Tanager, and that little bundle of activ- 

 ity, the saucy Winter Wren. 



May 9. — 1 spent this evening search- 

 ing among the swampy hummocks 

 where a pair of Wilson's Snipe are evi- 

 dently nesting, but aside from being 

 nearly flushed out of my rubber boots 

 by an American Bittern who suddenly 

 jumped up in front of me and uttered a 

 terrified squawk, my search was un- 

 eventful. 



May 12. — The corn stubble in swamp 

 has become a most interesting spot, for 

 here are gathered s'ores of Killdeers 

 and Spotted Sandpiper?, either species 

 being capable of furnishing amusement 

 as long as one cares to watch them, be- 

 sides others of this kind have begun to 

 appear. This morning I saw a Solitary 

 Sandpiper walking daintily around the 

 muddy pools. On the 18th a small 

 flock of Least Sandpipers arrived, fol- 

 lowed on the 19th by 15 Semipalmated 

 Plovers, while on the 22d a beautiful 

 male Black-bellied Plover spent the 

 day here. A Least Flycatcher has been 

 tugging away at the fluffy end of our 

 clothes-line, working mostly morning 

 and evening. The female did all the 

 work, while the male followed close at 

 her heels like an arrant taskmaster, his 

 emphatic •'che-beck" sounding more 

 like a threatening "you-get," than an 

 expression of encouragement. 



May 29. — Appearances are sometimes 

 very deceptive as was an evergreen 

 tree in which I found a rather remark- 



able state of affairs this morning. 1 

 wa§ looking for a nest of Purple Finch 

 and had walked around the tree with- 

 out seeing any signs of nests, but to 

 make sure I gave the tree a gentle num- 

 ber 8 kick which stirred up a lively 

 rumpus indeed, for out of that tree 

 went 6 jibbering House Sparrows, an 

 excited Bronze Grackle and a more ex- 

 cited Robin. Upon climbing the tree 

 I found a small bird village, consisting 

 of 3 nests of English Sparrows, 1 of 

 Bronze Grackle, and 1 of Robin— -5 

 nests within a radius of 4 feet, and all 

 containing either eggs or young. 



June 5 — While trying to get in a 

 good place to photograph a Black-billed 

 Cuckoo on her nest I stumbled onto a 

 nest of Maryland Yellowthroat contain- 

 ing 4 fresh eg7s. The nest was placed 

 upon a triangle of vines and weeds 

 about 8 inches above the ground. It 

 was a large bulky affair of dead leaves 

 and grasses, lined with fine round 

 grasses and horse-hair. This find so 

 pleased me — for I do not often find a 

 nest of this warbler— that I forgot all 

 about the Cuckoo, who had sneaked 

 away, but I got a fine photo of tho 

 Yellowthroat's nest and eggs "in situ." 



June 7. — For some time I have heard 

 the song of a Black and White Warb- 

 ler, over in woods on hillside, along a 

 bush lot, so this evening I went over 

 purposely to hunt for their nest. I 

 was passing along the edge of the 

 woods, when I heard a rustle of dead 

 leaves, and looking to one side I saw a 

 W hippoorwill fluttering along, stopping 

 however, about 6 feet away, with wings 

 outspread in a wounded attitude. 

 Quickly glancing about me I saw Oh! 

 what I had hunted for for so many 

 years, two beautiful eggs of Whip-poor- 

 will, reposing on a bed of dead leaves 

 underneath a cluster of bushes, near a 

 pile of dead brush. 



1 wanted a photo, of course, but had 

 not brought my camera, so knowing the 

 Whip-poor-will's tendency to slip out 



