ir Eee DeUrb. ON eer E TPN 9 
Prairie Warblers Nesting 
By ESTHER A. CRAIGMILE 
IN EARLY July while exploring the Tower Hill Beach of Lake Michigan 
I was attracted by a monotonous song that suggested the prairie 
warbler. A warbler was seen gleaning insects from the opposite side 
of the stream—a steep 
bank of sand _ with 
some vegetation, bor- 
dering Carl Sandburg’s 
cottage. 
To my delight the 
bird flew to the cotton- 
wood beside me. On 
seeing me the parent 
hesitated to deliver the 
food which it held in 
its mouth. It hopped 
nervously about in the 
tree bobbing its tail in 
the manner of a palm 
warbler. I was assured 
of its identity and saw 
it was eager to feed 
young. I stood motion- 
less. Finally, it darted 
to a nest close to me in 
an opposite-leaved dog- 
wood shrub, three feet 
from the ground. There 
were two nestlings a 
few days old. I re- 
turned frequently and found both birds sharing in the task of feed- 
ing. The nest was not well anchored and tilted at an angle of 33 
degrees. 
One evening when the young were about to leave the nest we 
examined them with flashlights. The nest barely held the bulging 
young. With loud squeaks they darted from the nest. One we re- 
turned but failed to locate the other. The nest was vacant the next 
day. Several days later I heard the characteristic song and found the 
whole family of four in the same locality. 
On C. O. S. field trips in the Indiana Dunes I have frequently 
toiled up one dune and down another in extreme heat in pursuit of a 
prairie warbler’s song in a tree top. No satisfactory identification 
could be made but Mrs. W. D. Richardson or Frank Pitelka identified 
it. It is much more satisfactory studying the bird along the scant 
vegetation on the pioneer dunes. I am surprised that none of my 
books mention the bobbing tail. 
I appropriated the empty nest. Ned Landon of Galesburg, Ill. 
photographed the young just before they left the nest. 
Riverside, Ill. 
