Solitary 
and ne st 
Red-wings 
abandon 
the flooded 
r iver 
meadows 
Rest with 
one egg 
Hummingbird s 
at 
blossoming 
horse 
chestnut 
and Wood 
Duck 
Early in the afternoon I found a pair of Solitary 
Vireos on Holden’s Hill. They followed me about, uttering 
their peculiar low whining call and showing evident anxiety. 
After a few minutes search I found their nest. Its situa¬ 
tion was unique in a small dead oak attached to the fork 
of a perfectly dead and leafless branch about 12 inches out 
from the main trunk and perhaps 9 feet above the ground. I 
do not remember ever before seeing the nest of any species 
of Yireo placed on a dead branch. 
The Red-winged Blackbirds clung persistently and no 
doubt hopefully to the flooded meadows up to the 21st, but 
since then I have seen less than ten percent of the former 
numbers and I am now convinced that the others have become 
discouraged at the continued high stage of water and have 
sought breeding places elsewhere. I see a few nests in 
willows or tall bushes along the edges of the meadows. One 
near Bensen* s landing in the opt of a willow had one egg 
this evening. 
At about sunset I saw two female Hummingbirds in 
the horse chestnut at the Buttricks, feeding among its 
blossoms and quarreling, as do the males, for exclusive 
possession of the tree. 
As I beat up the meadows this afternoon, the Bittern 
was pumping in his usual place. I also heard a Wood Duck 
give the o’ cla note several times among the flooded bushes. 
Zt> 
