Lake Umbagog.
1896
May 31
[May 31, 1896]

  Forenoon stormy, afternoon clearing with alternating showers and
bursts of sunshine. Wind S.E. [southeast] to S.W. [southwest]

Watrous raids a colony of Eave Swallows and brings back twelve sets of eggs

  We all spent the forenoon at camp and my writing kept
me there most of the afternoon but Watrous & Jim rowed
down to the Gibbs (formerly Hayward) farm just below the narrows
in quest of dandelions. Watrous brought back twelve beautiful sets
of Eave Swallows eggs, eleven of 4 eggs each, one of 5 eggs. One set was
perfectly fresh, another well advanced in incubation, the rest incubated
from one to four or five days. He counted eighty nests on the barn
and examined a number which he did not molest. In a few of the latter
the birds had laid only 2 or 3 eggs, in a few others the eggs were
far advanced.

Martin's nests still without eggs

  There were about a dozen pairs of Martins nesting in a box placed
on a sort of staging on the roof of a shed. He looked into the
holes but could see no eggs. The nests were made of straw & green
leaves. The old birds were bringing nesting material.

Barn Swallows

  Barn Swallows in numbers were also flying into & from the barn
but Watrous did not look for their nests.

Large colony of breeding Swallows at Gibbs farm.

  Mrs. Gibbs gave him permission to take as many eggs as he
chose expressing certain indifference about them. She said that
someone from Upton took a number of Martin's eggs last year.
The existence of this large colony of Swallows at the Gibbs place
accounts for the presence at this end of the Lake of the
Martins, Eave Swallows & Barn Swallows that I see daily.
I have not yet found, however, where the Bank Swallows
which accompany them are nesting.

Acadian Owl

  Late in the afternoon I sailed over to Moll's Rock
in the hope of hearing the Acadian Owl. He was silent then
but at 9 P.M. we heard him distinctly at our camp.