SOME BIRDS 



found the nest of a Black Duck within thirty 

 feet of where the men were at work. It was 

 built at the foot of a large birch-tree, sheltered 

 by brakes and dwarf hemlock. The nest was but 

 a rude affair, but it contained nine eggs. Some 

 of the men tried to capture this wary duck, but 

 she was too quick and cautious for them, and on 

 every occasion she escaped, returning to her nest 

 when she could do so unobserved. She was 

 there for more than a week after we had begun 

 work, and though driven off many times, she 

 managed to hatch her brood successfully. I saw 

 the nest one morning when there were seven 

 newly hatched ducks in it, with two eggs still 

 unbroken, and as I approached all the little ones 

 darted out of the nest and hid themselves beneath 

 the leaves. I found it almost impossible to dis- 

 cover the hiding-place of any of them, yet when 

 I drew away from the nest they one after another 

 returned to it. When I saw it the next day, it 

 was tenantless, the last two eggs having been 

 hatched. This nest was fully three hundred feet 

 from the nearest water, and fifty-five feet above 

 the level of the lake. Since this time I have 

 never seen a black duck on the island, though 

 many nest in this region. 



lOI 



