The Audubon Societies 309 



thick, we could keep track of the mother bird and caught glimpses of her now 

 and then until she reached the nest. When she again left the nest we went 

 over and gently parted the high weeds, and there, about an inch from the 

 ground, in a little cluster of woody weeds, was the nest, sure enough, with three 

 young birdies, in the stage where they appear to be all mouth. 



[These entertaining and carefully reported observations were sent from Red Wing, 

 Minn., by the Principal of the State Training School for Boys, with the thought that they 

 "might be of interest to the readers of Bird-lore." He writes: "Our school is situated 

 on the banks of the Mississippi River about fift}' miles below St. Paul. We have such a 

 number of birds in our vicinity and we get the migrating birds of the Mississippi Valley 

 in the spring and fall." 



Anyone who has had the good fortune to study nature in this region knows the 

 wealth of its bird-life as compared with many other sections of the United States. The 

 incident of the turtle calls to mind the experience of a duck-breeder who finds that not 

 only snakes but also frogs and green turtles molest his ducklings. Other observers have 

 had more discouraging experiences in searching for the nest of the Maryland Yellow- 

 throat, than the one described above. This bird is one of the slyest and most elusive 

 creatures to follow. The writer, with a trained associate, spent a fruitless half-hour 

 during July, trying to locate the destination of a male Yellow-throat which was on its 

 way to the nest, with food in its mouth. We shall hope to hear from this school again. — 

 A. H. W.] 



A Little Story About the Mockingbird 



A pair of Mockingbirds built a nest in some roses on my friend's veranda. 

 When the nest was completed, one egg was laid each day, but with two eggs 

 in the nest, the female began sitting. I am certain that no one took any eggs, 

 for on the third day after the nest was completed it was under the close 

 observation of my friend. — Maurice B. Emmich (Aged 11 years), Vickshurg, 

 Miss. 



A Sparrow and a Dragon-fly 



While walking in New York, I saw an English Sparrow with a dead dragon- 

 fly. The dragon-fly was a very large one. It was fully as large as the Sparrow. 

 I do not know if he killed it himself or found it dead. — Pendleton Marshall, 

 New York City. 



[Brief as the above notes are, they show that both of these young observers saw a 

 few points clearly and reported them truthfully. This is the way to get at the secrets 

 of nature. Older observers have been severely criticized for making too much out of 

 what they imagined they had seen in the field. Imagination is a fine gift, but let all of 

 us beware of confusing what we actually see and hear in nature with what we would 

 like to see and hear. — A. H. W.] 



NOTE 



Read Wheatear for Wheateater in the July-August issue of Bird-Lore, page 245. 



