230
*
Lake Umbagog.
Whale-back Cove.
1897.
Sept. 7
(No 4)
as numerous as in spring and actually more troublesome for
the mosquitoes found here in autumn bite most savagely
and fearlessly never hesitating or dallying. There are two
kinds, one closely like, if not identical with, the species
which occurs in spring, the other scarce half as large.
  Soon after we had settled down behind the log a
Flicker flew to a stub on the opposite side of the
creek and entered a hole which looked black & worn
like an old nesting hole. It had evidently gone
there to spend the night for it do[sic] [did] not come
out again. I did not know before that Flickers
roosted in holes this season.
[margin]Flicker goes
to roost in
a hole at evening[/margin]
  Scarcely had the Flicker disappeared and just
as the sun was sinking behind the high ridge to
the westward a Great Horned Owl began making the
peculiar, husky, Jay-like scream, which, as far as I
am aware, is heard only in late summer & early autumn
and which the guides here say is characteristic of
the young of the species. At first the cry seemed to come
from some distance off in the stub forest and was
given at long intervals but presently the bird came nearer
and called much more frequently. At length it appeared
within about 100 yards of us and half a minute later
it was joined by another, either its mate or, as Will
thought, another bird of the same brood. Both birds looked
unusually small but as far as I could make out their
plumage was fully matured. Certainly they were strong
on the wing and their "horns" appeared to be of the
usual length. They kept moving from place to place
[margin]Great Horned
Owls[/margin]