THE ORNITHOLOGIST AND BOTANIST. 



39 



MAY. 



BY JULIA M. HOOPER. 



While Summer was planning her sylvan 

 bowers. 

 And dreaming of carpets so soft and 

 gay, 

 April has nourished the verdure with 

 showers 

 And Spring fills her lap with the blos- 

 soms of May. 



OWLS' NESTS. 



BY H. C. CAMPBELL, LANSINGBURGH, N. Y. 



April G, ISSO, was a perfect morning, 

 clear and cool, not a breath of wind, the 

 ground slightly frozen, and the air balmy 

 and invigorating; the kind of a morning 

 the late rising city folks never see. The 

 robins, blue birds, song sparrows and a 

 score of others were all singing in chorus, 

 making the morning more beautiful, 

 while the caw of the crows and a hawk 

 screaming in the sky made a charming 

 effect. 



I went southward through the fields 

 until after a walk of a mile, I came to a 

 deep ravine the sides of which were 

 covered with heavy timber, mostly pine 

 and hemlock. I started up this ravine, 

 following a cow-path and keeping my 

 eyes in the direction of the tree tops. 

 A movement over my head soon attract- 

 ed my attention and I discovered a small 

 hawk leaving his perch not more than 

 thirty feet above my head. He went 

 among the trees and was lost to view 

 before I could identify him. 



I went up the ravine until I reached 

 its extrimety which is bounded by a 

 highwaj' and was now opposite the vil- 

 lage of Lansingburgh but several hun- 

 dred feet above it. Here I stood and 

 saw the sun rise above the horizon and 

 envelop a twelve mile stretch of the 

 Hudson valley in a shroud of golden 

 glory. Looking westward could be seen 

 the little village of Waterf ord and the 

 city of Cohoes ; the latter known through- 

 out the world as the "City of Spindles." 



To the south could be seen the Capitol 

 city of New York and the Capitol build- 

 ing itself, the structure that cost the 

 state so many millions. Although not 

 ancient it might be said to be a ruin with 

 ■ 1 3 paper mache ceiling. 



I went on a few hundred yards when 

 I came to an orchard the owner of which 

 was standing in the road close by. Gain- 

 ing his permission to examine the old 

 trees, I climbed over the fence, took off 

 my coat and laid it down with my col- 

 lecting box and swinging myself up into 

 the first tree I came to, peered into a 

 natural cavity but only to find it empty. 



After trying several ti-ees without find- 

 ing anything I ascended another and 

 peered into a cavity when lo, an owl's 

 eyes gleamed out at me as much as to 

 say, ' ' what do you want here ?" I thrust 

 my hand down to get him when presto : 

 he grasped my hand like an old friend. 

 He was a screecher. I pulled him out 

 and again peered into the hole and was 

 disappointed at not finding eggs. Put- 

 ting him back again I was quite relieved 

 when he took his middle claw out of my 

 thumb. I descended and climbed anoth- 

 er tree finding another owl but no eggs. 



Contenting mj'self with the thought 

 that they had not commenced to lay, I 

 went out on the road again and followed 

 it for some distance examining several 

 trees but without finding anything. 



I then went into another old orchard 

 and found another owl. I pulled him 

 out of his home then thrusting my hand 

 down into the cavity I felt something 

 soft, pulled it out and found it to be a 

 headless song sparrow. I looked again 

 and found one egg. I put the egg and 

 Mrs. Megascops asio back again, and 

 struck out for a large piece of woods 

 about a mile distant where to my delight 

 I found a nest of Buteo li neat us in a 

 straight, slim hickory about sixty feet 

 from terra firma. But not having my 

 climbers with me I did not go up. I 

 took four eggs from this nest a few days 

 later. 



