THE OOLOGIST '^^(>\ ) 



61 



visited tlie nest and to my disgust 

 found three of the eggs broken. 

 Ravinia, 111. Walter A. Goelitz. 



NEST AND EGGS OF THE MARSH 



HAWK. 



(Circus Hudsonius) 



By Ernest Waters Vickers 



Photographs by Author 

 There is one hawk at least to get 

 pictures of whose nest the photog- 

 rapher-ornithologist does not have to 

 shin a tree, run the risk of his prec- 

 ious neck and other bones and his 

 whole camera outfit." So, when a local 

 farmer sent word that he had found a 

 strange hawk's nest on the ground, in- 

 viting me to come and see and photo 

 and name it if I could, I may be credit- 

 ed when I say that the invitation was 

 accepted immediately. Evidently he 

 thought his discovery a poser for me 

 for, as I found later, he supposed a 

 hawk's nest on the ground was un- 

 heard of, and moreover the pair were 

 of two kinds of birds, the one brown, 

 the other blue (!). But having all this 

 in his mind's eye at first intimation 

 the writer diagnosed the case at once 

 as Marsh Hawks, and no doubt his 

 running fire of questions and answers 

 surprised the farmer and set the for- 

 mer up a peg or two in the latter's 

 opinion. So much does a very little 

 "larnin" do in the right place. But 

 while I was amused at his ignorant 

 inquisitiveness, he no doubt, in turn 

 was struck with my state of compara- 

 tively worthless learning and enthus- 

 iasm and so matters were evened up. 

 I am running a little ahead of the in- 

 cidents, however, but must pause to 

 lament that there are still people in 

 this bright old world, who, having 

 eyes see not, and ears, use them not, 

 but go plodding along in ruts so deep 

 that the light of day and the sunshine 

 of truth cannot shine upon them there. 

 Well , I knew in advance that I 



should find a Marsh Hawk's nest and 

 eggs and as my slowly growing col- 

 lection of photographs of the nests 

 and eggs of the birds of Mahoning 

 County, Ohio, lacked this species, I 

 hastily threw together my kit and 

 stepped briskly forth on the morning 

 of May 18, 1913. The farmer had got 

 my postcard ^nd was evidently await- 

 ing my arrival with some impatience. 

 He told how the nest contained six 

 eggs on May 5th when found, and the 

 seventh egg was laid that week and 

 another the week following, the bird 

 seeming to set meantime. This habit 

 of laying and incubating, I find is not 

 unusual according to oological works, 

 that "the old bird" had allowed man- 

 although eight is rather an unusual 

 number. My informant assured me 

 kind to draw very near on their pil- 

 grimage to see her eight wonders ere 

 she took wing; this lead me to hope 

 that I might be able to "snap" her on 

 nest but she took wing while we were 

 probably 200 feet distant, and soon 

 joined her mate who circled high in a 

 glorious sky. No doubt she "sensed" 

 something new in the wind, conclud- 

 ing to make good her escape while 

 there was yet time. So far as the 

 man with the camera was concerned 

 he meant no harm, trusting this was 

 but the beginning of a series of good 

 negatives showing the nesting and 

 family affairs of this elegant and very 

 useful hawk. But the best laid plans 

 of mice and men, or of mice eaters 

 and bird-men, to make the quotation 

 pat both went awry, through the 

 ignorant prejudice of the farmer, who 

 declared that as soon as I was done 

 he would smash the eggs and destroy 

 the nest. Consequently, again, as in 

 so many similar cases, my story ends 

 with the introduction and opening of 

 the first chapter. Three fine nega- 

 tives, only the beginning of the pro- 

 posed series and the eight shells of 



