Walter Deane papers

83 Cambridge, Mass. 1900 June 1 Mercury 86° {degrees} at 1 P.M. A hot day.

I walked over to the Herbarium this A.M. and agreed to speak on the distribution of Arenaria groenlandica at the Botanical Club this evening. Mr. J.N. Sage, of Portland, Conn. sent me last evening a box of fresh plants of this species from Middleton, Conn. The meeting this evening at which I presided was a success and my remarks raised a discussion. This Arenaria is known to occur in all the New England States, but Massachusetts. Graylock must be searched for it.

Black-billed Cuckoo singing at night Twice last night when I awoke after midnight, I heard the Black-billed Cuckoo singing. He often utters a single soft cow-cow- cow occasionally connecting two notes, then again there will always be two or more notes connected. The tone is always very soft, M. heard him twice this evening.

It has been very hot in the garden to-day and I have been too busy to inspect the birds more than once. With Mrs. Kettell's aid, I think my short list embraces all: — Icterus galbula 2 ♂ x {in full song} ♂ {males} ♀ {female} Vireo olivaceus (2) {in flock} Dendroica aestiva 1 x {in full song} {Dendroica} striata 1 Mrs. Kettell Setophaga ruticilla ♂ {male} ♀ {female} Galeoscoptes carolinensis ♂ {male} ♀ {female} Parus atricapillus 1 Mrs. K. Merula migratoria 6

84 Cambridge, Mass. 1900 June 2 Mercury 87° {degrees}, 1 P.M. An intensely hot day.

This afternoon I finished Vol. IV, 1881, Part 3 of the Index and started in on he last Part.

I have seen almost no birds to-day. With Mrs. Kettell's aid I think I have all that were in the garden. I observed them all myself. I was much interested in the Cuckoos. I kept hearing from my room the harsh notes of the Yellow-billed for the first time this year. At last going out to the garden I sw the bird, saw his yellow mandible and the broad white spots on his tail. He sang the full song: Kuk-Kuk-Kuk-Kuk, cow-cow-cow-cow, the cows not coupled together. I also heard the soft coo-coo-coo of the Black-billed. While the White-billed never couples the cow notes together, the Black-billed couples two or three, though often sings them all separately. The soft quality of tone distinguishes it however.

This late afternoon I drove Mr. & Mrs. Kettell & Mrs. Coolidge round Fresh Pond. The family dined here this evening from Sparks St.

The garden birds to-day were: — Coccyzus americanus 1 x {in full song} "Coccyzus" erythrophthalmus 1 x {in full song} vidi Colaptes auratus lutens 1 x {in full song} Corvus americanus 1 x {in full song} Icterus galbula 2 ♂♂ {males} x {in full song}

Vireo olivaceus 1 x {in full song} Setophaga ruticilla 1 x {in full song} Dendroica aestiva 1 x {in full song} Merula migratoria 2

85 A Morning at Waverly, Mass. 1900 June 3 Mercury 60° {degrees}, 8 A.M. & 1 P.M., & 55° {degrees}, 6 P.M.

It rained this morning before 7 o'clock. It has been very cool with heavy clouds, with a mist two or three times in the morning and heavy rain in the latter afternoon and evening.

Flying Squirrel. George and I went to Waverly this morning by electrics to see Fred Johnson who wanted to show me his Flying Squirell. We met him and his brother at the bridge in the Reservation and walked to his house. The house is on Quince Street. Fred brought out his squirrel in a cage. He said that he found the nest in the cedar tree near by, and he took us to it afterwards. The nest was a bunch of soft grasses and the like made into a ball some ten feet up in a small cedar. The boys got three young squirrels. The cat killed one, and one escaped. They saw the old squirrel run out of the nest. The young one is a very cunning little creature, and drinks milk and eats bits of nut.

We were then taken across the street into an open patch by a small unoccupied house, where some old apple trees were growing. In one of htem, about four feet from the ground was a small hole, the entrance to a Chickadee's nest. One bird flew out as we drew near, and we stood off and watched the

86 A Morning at Waverly, Mass. 1900 June 3 (2) two old birds hopping among the branches singing and feeding. Soon one entered the hole and after a moment, came out and flew up into the tree. Then the other did the same thing. It was a very pretty sight indeed. One of the old birds had no tail and resembled "Sine cauda" that we had in the garden a year ago.

We left our young friends about 11 o'clock and walked as far as the entrance to the Upper Reservation. In the woods across the street, I saw a Pine Warbler in the Pines. He sang his simple trill for about then minutes. A Nashville and a Black-throated Green Warbler were singing in the same wood.

Heavy Thunder Clap. As we were sitting in the car at Waverly waiting to return home, at just 12.10 P.M. there occurred the most tremendous thunder clap close by. I just thought that a large gun had been fired close to the ear, and then I thought there had been some great explosion. I saw no lightning flash. People run out of the houses to see what had happened. We saw and heard nothing more.

A good number of birds were about singing this morning. We noted all that we saw and I append a list of them:

87 A Morning at Waverly, Mass. 1900 June 3 (3) List of birds observed in Waverly: — Dryobates pubescens medianus. Downy Woodpecker One. Colaptes auratus luteus. Flicker. Two. Chaetura pelagica. Chimney Swift. About twelve. Tyrannus tyrannus. Kingbird. Quite pregnant. We saw about ten. Contopus virens. Wood Pewee. Two singing. Saw one of them. Empidonax minimus Heard two. Corvus americanus. American Crow. Saw but one. Agelaius phoenicius. Red-winged Blackbird Abundant in the swamps and near them. Sturnella magna. Meadowlark. One heard in an open-field Icterus galbula. Baltimore Oriole. Frequent. Males only seen. Singing. Quiscalus quiscula aeneus Bronzed Grackle. Abundant in swamps and near them. Passer domesticus. English Sparrow. Frequent every where. Spizella socialis . Chipping Sparrow. Heard. Saw two or three Melospiza fasciata. Song Sparrow. Heard several. Cyanospiza cyanea. Indigo Bird. One singing on telegraph wire. Heard another.

88 A Morning at Waverly, Mass. 1900 June 3 (4) Piranga erythromelas. Scarlet Tanager. Two singing. Hirundo erythrogaster. Barn Swallow. About six. Tachycineta bicolor White-billed Swallow. Two. Vireo olivaceus. Red-eyed Vireo. Heard two or three. Vireo flavifrons Yellow-tailed Vireo. Heard two or three. Saw one of them. Mniotilta varia. Black and White Creeper. Two. Helminthophaga rubicapilla {ruficapilla}. Nashville Warbler. Heard one in wood opp. Upper Reserv. Dendroica aestiva. Yellow Warbler. Heard several. {Dendroica} virens. Black-throated Green Warlber. Singing in wood opp. upper Reserv. {Dendroica} vigorsii. Pine Warbler. Saw one & heard him sing 10 minutes in the wood opp. upper Reservation in Pines. *> Setophaga ruticilla Redstart. Saw & heard several. Parus atricapillus. Chickadee. Saw two and nest in apple tree. See note above. Hylocichla fuscescens. Wilson's Thrush. Heard one. Merula migratoria. Robin. Saw a few. * Geothlypis trichas. Maryland Yellowthroat. Heard two Total 30 species.

89 Cambridge, Mass. 1900 June 8 Since my lst entry, June 3, the week has passed quietly at the Museum. I am approaching the end of the Index and shall have it quite done by next week.

The migrants have gone. The only one during the week was a Black-poll Warbler heard in the garden on June [blank] by Will Brewster. There are a number of summer residents in the gardens every day but I have seen no nests. The robins nest was deserted soon after it was built. The pair of Catbirds are with us and of course are nesting though we haven't as yet seen the nest. A pair of Redstarts are constantly seen. They bathe in the saucer under the crab apple tree. All day long an Oriole is singing about the place. He has a striking song, so that I recognize it daily. A hunt would reveal the rest in the neighborhood. Will has been down all the week. He has spent most of the time in the garden or driving and photographing.

90 A Visit to Prof. Chas. S. Sargent's Brookline, Mass. 1900 June 9 Clear, cool. A glorious day —

Our Botanical Club visited the estate of Prof. Chas. S. Sargent, Brookline, Mass, this afternoon to see his famous display of Rhododendrons and Azaleas. Will and I drove over reaching the place at four o'clock. About thirty of the members were present.

Prof. Sargent's estate comprised 180 acres, consisting of beautiful stretches of lawn finely cut, woods of grand old trees, and in the meadow a pond of about two acres, made by enlarging a brook. The muck taken from the pond was put on to the edges and on this broad strip, ten feet or more wide are growing the magnificent Rhododendrons, set out in 1877. The pond never fails and the Rhododendrons are never watered. The flowering was at its height yesterday and the sight was glorious. The plants surround about two thirds of the pond, and the glorious mixture of colors are reflected in the clear water.

At one corner of the house under a large tent is a display of potted Azaleas, an unbroken mass of color, rising from two feet in front to about ten at the back, each flower [t?ling] its neighbor, the colors grading from creamy white to deep red. I never saw a more glorious sight. The Azaleas covered a space of about twenty feet square.

We lunched and walked over the large grounds examining the trees and views, meeting beds of Rhododendrons here & there. We reached home about 7 P.M.

91 A Morning in Waverly, Mass. 1900 June 10 Sunday — Clear, light breeze, warm in the sun at noon. It has been an ideal day.

I went to Waverly again as usual and at ten o'clock met the boys at the Reservation bridge. There were Fred & Harry Johnson and two Higgins boys. Fred and one of the Higgins had to go to Waverly and we waited for them near the bridge. We watched the birds and I caught some butterflies. Cissia eurytus Cissia eurytus was very abundant flying low over the meadows and grassy fields. It is called The Little Wood-satyr, and is but one-brooded. The butterfly is common here through June, eggs are laid about the middle of June, the caterpillars hatch out early in July, and grow slowly till cold weather when the then full-grown larva hibernates through the winter, changes into a crysalis in May and the butterfly appears in June. Such is the simple cylce of this pretty little butterfly. The caterpillars feed on blades of gress, and eat mostly by night. I caught several of these for mounting and study. I also toodk Atrytone zabulon, The Mormon, and

While sitting in the field just beyond the bridge, I saw a Black Duck fly over and drop into the marsh. I heard quacking from the same locality shortly after. The young brood with doubtless be reared.

92 A Morning in Waverly, Mass. 1900 June 10 (2) I saw a fine Tiger Swallow-tailed (Jasoniades glaucus, the old Papilio turnus, under a new name, and a Black Swallowtail (Papilio polyxenes) but I could not get near either. American Coppers (Heodes hypophlaeas) were flying over the grass and dry places. We also met a Red Admiral (Vanessa atalanta) by the brook. Cabbage Butterflies (Pieris rapae) were abundant.

Chickadee's nest. The boys not retuning, the rest of us went up to the top of the hill beyond Quince St. where I wanted to see a nest Fred told me about. He had said that the bird built behind a piece of bark, and I suspected a Brown Creeper. While what he said was perfectly true, yet the nest was a Chickadee's. His description of the eggs might belong to those of either bird. Something had destroyed the eggs. In a dead pine stump some six inches in diameter there was a hole 3 ft. 3 in. from the ground. The hole was 6 in. deep. The entrance would just admit a very small bird. Some creature or boy had pulled the back away from the hole and this revealed the whole length of the hole, but the nest was in the hole in the tree and not behind a scale of bark as is the case with the Brown Creeper. I was interested to see this nest and settle the question, for either alternative was possible.