Lake Umbagog.
1896
May 21
(No 2)
[May 21, 1896]

Cat-bird [Catbird]

  Early, this morning I found a Cat-bird [Catbird] in a thicket of 
raspberry & elder bushes by the roadside in the Brown clearing. 
It was silent, listless & tame appearing to be tired as if it
had only just arrived which, indeed, must have been the
case as I have passed the place every morning for the
last three days.

Indigo Birds.

  In the same thicket I saw a male Indigo Bird to-day.
There was one chirping in the White pasture yesterday.

Savanna Sparrows [Savannah Sparrow].

  My Savanna Sparrow's [Savannah Sparrow] nest in Lakeside meadow had
two eggs this afternoon. The male sings within from 20 to
60 yards of this nest. There are in all three pairs - or
at least three males - in this meadow.

Photographing a Porcupine.

  In the afternoon we tried to photograph a Porcupine
which Watrous caught in the Sargent opening & brought in
yesterday. It proved a difficult task for the light was
poor & the brute proved as stubborn as a mule marching
off steadily like a big mud turtle when left for a moment
on the ground and when driven up a tree moping or
thrashing his tail viciously usually, starting to climb a little
higher just after I had focused him and was about to
expose the plate. I got one or two fair negatives, however.

Apple trees in bloom.

  Apple trees in full bloom to-day and the foliage in
the woods growing rapidly dense.

Red-start [Redstart] begins nest.

  Saw a Redstart beginning her nest this morning literally laying
the first strands - in the fork of a maple in the woods
east of Lakeside.