AND THE WILDERNESS BLOSSOMED 



and generally rears successfully the greater part 

 of her brood. I have counted twelve young 

 birds in June, and the same flock contained 

 ten healthy full-grown birds in September. Of 

 course there are no foxes on the island, and the 

 only enemies we have to watch for are the owls 

 and the hawks. The latter are not numerous, 

 and the former, from their large size, are sure 

 to be discovered by some one, and promptly 

 shot. We have probably seven species of owls 

 in this region, but as far as my observation goes, 

 only four have visited the island. These are the 

 Great-horned Owl, the American Long-eared 

 Owl, the Short-eared Owl, and the Little Saw- 

 Whet, or Acadian Owl. Of course it is quite 

 possible that all of these birds may have come 

 to us in search of field mice, to which they were 

 heartily welcome ; but as they were all, with the 

 exception of the little Saw-Whet, uniformly sus- 

 pected of designs on the grouse, they were 

 promptly shot on sight. 



Our success with the grouse was so gratifying 

 that we determined to try the Ring-necked, or 

 English, Pheasant. A New Jersey friend was 

 kind enough to present me with some of these 

 birds, and they were taken to the island and 



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