﻿BIRDS 
  OF 
  NEW 
  YORK 
  43 
  

  

  It 
  was 
  a 
  matter 
  of 
  surprise 
  to 
  find 
  so 
  few 
  liawks 
  and 
  owls 
  in 
  the 
  

   woods. 
  The 
  owls 
  were 
  mostly 
  silent, 
  except 
  the 
  Barred 
  owl, 
  and 
  so 
  were 
  over- 
  

   looked, 
  but 
  no 
  evidence 
  was 
  secured 
  from 
  the 
  inhabitants, 
  or 
  otherwise, 
  

   that 
  any 
  other 
  species 
  of 
  owl 
  w^as 
  common 
  in 
  this 
  region. 
  The 
  commonest 
  

   hawks 
  in 
  order 
  were 
  the 
  Broad-winged, 
  Coopers 
  and 
  Red-tailed. 
  There 
  

   was 
  some 
  evidence 
  of 
  one 
  famih' 
  each 
  of 
  the 
  Sharp-shinned 
  hawk. 
  Pigeon 
  

   and 
  Goshawk, 
  and 
  the 
  eyrie 
  of 
  a 
  pair 
  of 
  Duck 
  hawks 
  was 
  found 
  on 
  Lower 
  

   Ausable 
  lake 
  and 
  a 
  family 
  of 
  Sparrow 
  hawks 
  near 
  John 
  Brown's 
  grave. 
  

   The 
  Red-shouldered 
  hawk 
  was 
  not 
  located 
  nearer 
  than 
  Saranac 
  river 
  where 
  

   one 
  family 
  was 
  found 
  in 
  August. 
  None 
  of 
  these 
  hawks 
  was 
  common 
  and 
  

   we 
  do 
  not 
  believe 
  that 
  more 
  than 
  six 
  pairs 
  of 
  Broad-winged 
  hawks, 
  four 
  

   pairs 
  of 
  Coopers 
  hawks, 
  and 
  three 
  pairs 
  of 
  Red-tailed 
  hawks 
  nested 
  within 
  

   6 
  miles 
  of 
  Mt 
  Marcy. 
  

  

  Water 
  birds 
  were 
  very 
  scarce. 
  One 
  family 
  of 
  American 
  mergansers 
  

   was 
  reared 
  on 
  Elk 
  lake 
  and 
  one 
  pair 
  of 
  Pied-billed 
  grebes 
  was 
  endeavoring 
  

   to 
  nest 
  there. 
  American 
  bitterns 
  were 
  breeding 
  on 
  the 
  same 
  lake, 
  but 
  

   had 
  been 
  destroyed 
  by 
  reckless 
  tourists. 
  Herring 
  gulls 
  paid 
  daily 
  visits 
  

   to 
  Elk 
  lake 
  and 
  sometimes 
  to 
  Upper 
  Ausable 
  and 
  were 
  evidently 
  nesting 
  

   somewhere 
  south 
  of 
  these 
  lakes. 
  A 
  small 
  colony 
  of 
  Great 
  blue 
  herons 
  was 
  

   located 
  in 
  the 
  marshes 
  of 
  Boreas 
  pond. 
  We 
  learned 
  that 
  Wood 
  ducks 
  in 
  

   previous 
  seasons 
  had 
  nested 
  on 
  Boreas 
  pond 
  and 
  a 
  "Sawbill" 
  had 
  had 
  a 
  

   nest 
  of 
  1 
  1 
  eggs 
  under 
  a 
  tussock 
  of 
  grass 
  on 
  Elk 
  river. 
  This 
  was 
  evidentlv 
  

   a 
  Red-breasted 
  merganser. 
  Woodcock 
  were 
  almost 
  unknown 
  in 
  Keene 
  

   Valley, 
  but 
  families 
  of 
  these 
  birds 
  were 
  found 
  3 
  miles 
  below 
  Elk 
  lake 
  and 
  

   at 
  Boreas 
  pond. 
  Spotted 
  sandpipers 
  with 
  downy 
  young 
  were 
  found 
  both 
  

   at 
  Boreas 
  pond 
  and 
  at 
  Elk 
  lake 
  and 
  birds 
  of 
  this 
  species 
  were 
  seen 
  several 
  

   times 
  in 
  Keene 
  Valley 
  and 
  the 
  Ausable 
  lakes. 
  

  

  Eagles 
  and 
  ospreys 
  were 
  not 
  nesting 
  in 
  this 
  immediate 
  vicinity. 
  One 
  

   osprey 
  came 
  fishing 
  frequently 
  to 
  the 
  Upper 
  Ausable 
  from 
  some 
  point 
  

   southward 
  and 
  we 
  judged 
  from 
  the 
  time 
  she 
  was 
  absent 
  after 
  taking 
  a 
  fish, 
  

   that 
  her 
  nest 
  was 
  several 
  miles 
  distant. 
  One 
  Bald 
  eagle 
  was 
  seen 
  passing 
  

   over 
  Haystack 
  and 
  we 
  learned 
  that 
  it 
  had 
  bred 
  recently 
  on 
  the 
  high 
  slopes 
  

  

  