95
Lake Umbagog.
Leonardo's Pond.
1897.                                    
(No 3)               
dozen times or more gradually narrowing their circles
and drawing nearer to the stub until at length one bird                                             
leaving the nest would pitch first downward, then sharply                                                
upward still moving its wings but using them at the last                                                   
to check rather than increase its headway. On reaching the
stub it would try to alight on the ragged top. Mostly
the attempt failed when the bird, continuing its flight,
would disappear through the trees, presently reappearing
above then to begin circling again; but twice it
gained a foothold and actually remained perched on
the top of the stub for several seconds although it was
obliged to keep its wings almost constantly in motion
to maintain its balance.
[margin]Whislers
circling
about stub[/margin]
  On several occasions it seemed to direct its upward
sweep towards a point a foot or two below the top
of the stub and once when no Ducks were in sight
circling I distinctly saw two fly in quick succession
from this part of the trunk. On examining the tree
from the opposite side next morning I found that
it had at just this place a round, neat-looking
hole quite large enough for a Whistler to enter and
without doubt containing a nest and eggs.
  It is remarkable, however, that four birds should
have circled together so many times about this tree
but at times two of them would go off leaving
the other two to continue their gyrations. They were
all silent most of the time but once or twice
I heard the loud continuous call noted here last
year.