65
Lake Umbagog.
1897
May 21
(No 2)
nearly an hour they kept up a loud screaming uttering
a whistle, repeated several times in quick succession
and so very like the cleur-cleur-cleur of Sphyrapicus varius
that we were all deceived at first. It was, however, louder
and given more slowly.
  At 7 a.m. I started off alone in the new canoe
paddling through the channel and into the Sweat Cove.
Wreaths of mist were rising and wheeling about lazily
everywhere along the heavily-wooded shores but the water
was glassy calm. How the birds sang! It reminded me
of the good old times to hear their voices coming incessantly
from every direction and in such numbers and variety as
to be fairly bewildering. There must have been a heavy
flight last night or else this locality is far more
populous than the Lakeside region.
[margin]Sweat Cove
A full
bird count[/margin]
  As I emerged from the western end of the channel a
pair of Black Ducks rose near the little island where I
took a nest many years ago. Farther out - indeed near
the middle of the Cove I could see two other pairs
of water-fowl swimming. One pair proved to be also
Black Ducks. The other two birds puzzled me at
first - indeed until I got within 100 yards of them.
At a distance they looked like Gooseanders or Hooded Mergansers but
as I came nearer they stretched up a pair of long
slender necks & began swimming rapidly away from
me like Scoters. Finally I made them out to be
Red-necked Grebes a bird I have never seen here
in spring before. They were both in the full nuptial
plumage and in just the right lights I could see
[margin]Black Ducks
swimming
in pairs[/margin]
[margin]A pair of
Holboells Grebes.[/margin]