Diary of a Teenage Birder from New Canaan, circa 1910. Part 5.

June 4, 2020 — Harold Jones’s field observations continue. Modern-day birders working on the Connecticut Breeding Bird Atlas, take note: two confirmed breeding species follow.

Scroll through Natural Selections for Parts 1 through 4 (the most recent was May 17).

[Wednesday] April 20
This afternoon I invaded Cuckoo Thicket, field-glass and camp-chair in hand, and succeeded in stepping into a mud puddle the first thing. While the thicket was absolutely dry last summer, it is now a dam (I mean damp) swamp. Once on dry land again, I unfolded my chair, seated myself and commenced to peruse Sabbath Reading, which I had brought along for the purpose. Hardly had I started to read when a Flicker flew over my head and alighted on a dead tree nearby. I looked up and perceived, to my delight, a little round hole in the tree just above the bird. Evidently I had discovered a prospective nesting site. After reconnoitering a bit the Flicker disappeared in the hole and fell to work. He would hammer and peck, and peck and hammer, and then throw out the loosened wood, using his bill both as a pick and chisel and shovel. When I made any noise he would pop out his head and look around with his little shiny, beady eyes, as much as to say, “What’s going on?” The future Colaptian domicile was some 20 feet from the ground. The dead tree in which it is situated, is, by the way, the same tree which I described under the head of Feb. 6, as containing the winter home of a Downy is on the opposite side of the tree from the Flicker’s, and nearer the ground.

[Friday] April 22
Today I again visited the Flicker’s hole. Master Colaptes was at home, as before, and still vigorously at work. I wish I could look into the hole, once in awhile, to see how the work is progressing. I have as yet seen no signs of the female. I wonder when she will commence to sit?

Day before the yesterday the eggs in the Bluebird’s nest over by Rannikie’s hatched out, and now there are five fuzzy little babies in it.

Coming home through the orchard I saw a Chippy fly up from the ground with a worm in his bill. He swallowed part of the worm and then sang, swallowed some more and sang again etc.