Penobscot Bay, Maine.
1896
June 30
(No 3)
  The next nest placed some 20 feet back from the shingle among
rank beach pea vines but also on the edge of a bed of tall dense grass (Witch Grass, Agropyrum repens fide Deane)
resembling our blue joint contained a fine set of 9 eggs all just
sufficiently incubated to give reasonable assurance that the bird 
had finished laying. All the eggs in the other nests examined to-day
had been left wholly uncovered but over these was drawn a thick
warm quilt of the birds' down which concealed them so perfectly
that not a shell could be seen from any side. Conary says that
it is unusual for a Sheldrake to thus cover its eggs. In the
present instance it seemed to be unnecessary unless for the sake
of warmth for in all my experience I have never seen any bird's
nest so completely & effectually concealed by vegetation alone. The
beach pea vines among which it was built closed completely over it
but as if this were not enough the tall rank grass had
"lodged" above the vines forming a mat that must have been
quite impervious to light & probably to rain also. I passed the
nest within a yard parting the grass as I went but missing the
prize. Watrons coming on behind me happened to notice a
narrow beaten path very like a Musk rats' runway & following
this patiently finally came to the nest.
  The nest nest was equally well concealed & very similarly placed
under a mat of lodged grass. Conary stepped directly over it
& passed on but Watrons again found the runway & traced it
to the nest. It held six eggs. They were perfectly fresh but they
filled the nest so tightly that a seventh could not have been added 
without enlarging it. On this account Conary insisted that the
set was complete. He says that both Eiders & Sheldrake make
nests of exactly the right size to accom[m]odate the eggs that
they will lay. This is certainly true of the Golden-eye Duck as we
noticed at Umbagog last month.