4 THE A:U' DU BO Ne SB Ute heii 
April 10. A Flicker came up and looked for his old home in the box 
elder. He found that it had been snapped off by the ice storm and did 
not tarry long. 
April 11. Sighted a Logger-head Shrike today. Hope he does not 
locate here. I once had a time getting rid of a pair after I had found a 
baby chick with its neck eaten down to the bone and still alive. After 
destroying their nest and wounding the female they departed from the 
premises. 
May 1. For the second year the Robins have built and laid before there 
were enough leaves to hide the nest. This spring she was smarter; she built 
in the arbor vitae instead of the lilac. Now, May 4, there are three naked 
babies in the nest opening their mouths for food. From the four sky-blue 
eggs they came while there is still frost and ice in the air. 
May 5. The Sapsucker has riddled the pine tree again. He has two 
complete circles and I am afraid the tree may die. Two years ago he 
circled it badly, but we doctored it up and it went on growing. Now I 
have painted it with arsenate of lead and flour in a paste. 
May 6. The Thrasher is singing from the top of the silver poplar this 
morning. He always picks the topmost branch. What a beautiful concert 
he puts on! There are some small yellowish-gray birds about, probably 
warblers. Saw them on the soft maples hunting food. 
May 7. Just observed a fox squirrel in the old elm. The poor thing is 
in a quandry. The dog watches him from the ground and six male black- 
birds are in the tree. One kept flying over and ‘“blimping” the squirrel 
until in desperation he sought a crotch with four branches extending up- 
ward and was safe for the time being. The blackbirds sat on a branch and 
one would ruffle up his feathers and go ps-sss, p-sss, and then another 
would do likewise, and so on. The birds finally grew tired of their vigilance 
and flew off. 
May 9. The gray Catbird arrived yesterday with his harsh “kee-aat, 
kee-aat” in the top of the old apple tree. His cry seems similar to the 
scream of the Blue Jay. He is an annual nester here. Found an odd thing 
along the garden fence yesterday. Never expect to see the like again. 
One of our white Guineas had made a nest there and in it was one Guinea 
egg, one Pheasant egg, and one Cowbird egg. 
May 19. Saw a pair of Rose-breasted Grosbeaks in the elm tree early 
this morning. Their large beaks and the splash of their red breasts were 
easily seen. The female was a sort of rose mixture, but the male was as 
bright as red could be. 
May 20. Sighted a Baltimore Oriole in the wood lot. Lots of Thrashers 
about. A pair of Bluebirds flew along the highway near the woods, first 
I have noticed this late; must have nested near Sumner. At home a 
Ruby-throat was getting his supper from the flowering currant. A Nut- 
hatch went up the tree hunting food. The Kingbird quarrels with the 
Blackbirds. 
May 27. The Brown Thrasher has a nest in the brushpile near the 
