HUMMINGBIRDS' NESTS NEAR CAMP. 
The pendulous branches of the Red Maple, where they 
overhang the waters of the Ipswich River, seem favoied 
nesting sites of that feathered atom, the Ruby-throated 
Hummingbird. On the 14th of last May, I paddled down 
stream from Howe's with a canoe party, and as we pre- 
• pared to land at the Club Camp, I happened to glance into 
the branches of the maple opposite Camp. Almost directly 
over my head and within easy reach was the last yeai s 
tiny nest of a Hummingbird. I collected the nest, which, 
despite last fall's ice storm, was in excellent condition. 
The following Fourth of July, which was a wet, disagree¬ 
able day, I spent at the camp. During the day I boarded 
the “Zephyr" for a short row downstream, and, as I pushed 
off, the bow of the boat caught in the branches of that same 
maple. The river was greatly swollen from the recent rains 
of May and June, and some of the drooping twigs were rest¬ 
ing in the water. As I released the boat from its entangle¬ 
ment, my eye fell upon another nest, containing two tiny 
eggs, which was just clear of the water and in imminent 
danger of being crushed by the bow or borne beneath it. 
I grasped the branch and examined my find. From the 
appearance of the nest and eggs it was clear that they had 
been under water and had been abandoned by the bird. I 
watched, but saw no bird about, and later in the day col¬ 
lected the nest, which was within three feet of the twig I 
severed with the other nest in May. 
It seems strange, at first thought, that this bird could nest 
within a hundred feet of the Camp two years in succession 
without being detected, but anyone who has had experience 
with the Ruby-throat knows that its minute size and bullet¬ 
like flight render it very difficult of observation. 
Walter E. Bates. 
AN ACCIDENTAL VISITOR. 
A trip to Ipswich Beach, Mass., or more properly Castle 
Neck, on May 30th, 1922, netted an unusual sight in the 
ornithological field. Early in the afternoon a large bird, 
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