18 June 1855 – 24 June 1855

To Hemlocks. Sparganium. <A yellowbird feigns broken wings. Woodcock. At 3 p. M., as I walked up the bank by the Hem- locks, I saw a painted tortoise just beginning its hole; then another a dozen rods from the river on the bare barren field near some pitch pines, where the earth was covered with cladonias, cinquefoil, sorrel, etc. Its hole was about two thirds done. I stooped down over it, and, to my surprise, after a slight pause it pro- ceeded in its work, directly under and within eighteen inches of my face. I retained a constrained position for three quarters of an hour or more for fear of alarm- ing it. It rested on its fore legs, the front part of its shell about one inch higher than the rear, and this position was not changed essentially to the last. The hole was oval, broadest behind, about one inch wide and one and three quarters long, and the dirt already removed was quite wet or moistened. Jt made the hole and removed the dirt with its hind legs only, not using its tail or shell, which last of course could not enter the hole, though there was some dirt on it. It first scratched two or three times with one hind foot; then took up a pinch of the loose sand and deposited it directly behind that leg, pushing it backward to its full length and then deliberately opening it and letting the dirt fall; then the same with the other hind foot. This it did rapidly, using each leg alternately with per- fect regularity, standing on the other one the while, and thus tilting up its shell each time, now to this side, then to that. There was half a minute or a minute be- tween each change. The hole was made as deep as the feet could reach, or about two inches. It was very neat about its work, not scattering the dirt about any more than was necessary. ‘The completing of the hole oc- cupied perhaps five minutes. It then without any pause drew its head completely into its shell, raised the rear a little, and protruded and dropped a wet flesh-colored egg into the hole, one end foremost, the red skin of its body being considerably protruded with it. Then it put out its head again a little, slowly, and placed the egg at one side with one hind foot. After a delay of about two minutes it again drew in its head and dropped another, and so on to the fifth — drawing in its head each time, and pausing some- what longer between the last. The eggs were placed in the hole without any particular care, — only well down flat and [each] out of the way of the next, — and I could plainly see them from above. After these ten minutes or more, it without pause or turning began to scrape the moist earth into the hole with its hind legs, and, when it had half filled it, it carefully pressed it down with the edges of its hind feet, dancing on them alternately, for some time, as on its knees, tilting from side to side, pressing by the whole weight of the rear of its shell. When it had drawn in thus all the earth that had been moistened, it stretched its hind legs further back and to each side, and drew in the dry and lichen-clad crust, and then danced upon and pressed that down, still not moving the rear of its shell more than one inch to right or left all the while, or changing the position of the forward part at all. The thoroughness with which the covering was done was remarkable. It persevered in drawing in and dancing on the dry surface which had never been disturbed, long after you thought it had done its duty, but it never moved its fore feet, nor once looked round, nor saw the eggs it had laid. There were fre- quent pauses throughout the whole, when it rested, or ran out its head and looked about circumspectly, at any noise or motion. These pauses were especially long during the covering of its eggs, which occupied more than half an hour. Perhaps it was hard work. When it had done, it immediately started for the river at a pretty rapid rate (the suddenness with which it made these transitions was amusing), pausing from time to time, and I judged that it would reach it in fif- teen minutes. It was not easy to detect that the ground had been disturbed there. An Indian could not have made his cache more skillfully. In a few minutes all traces of it would be lost to the eye. The object of moistening the earth was perhaps to enable it to take it up in its hands (? ), and also to pre- vent its falling back into the hole. Perhaps it also helped to make the ground more compact and harder when it was pressed down.'

Tuesday. P. M. — Up Assabet. A pewee’s nest (bird apparently small pewee, nest apparently wood pewee’s) on a white maple’s nearly horizontal bough, eighteen feet above water, opposite Hemlocks; externally of lichens from the maple trunk, and hemlock (? ) twigs, very inconspicuous, like a lichen- covered knot.? I hear many wood pewees about here. Young song sparrows flutter about. A yellowbird’s nest saddled on a horizontal (or slant- ing down amid twigs) branch of a swamp white oak, within reach, six feet high, of fern down and lint; a sharp cone bottom; four eggs, just laid, pale flesh-color with brown spots; have one. There are a great many glaucous and also hoary and yellowish-green puffs on the Andromeda panicu- lata now, some four inches in diameter. Wood tortoises united, with heads out of water. Did I enumerate the sharp-shinned hawk among ours? | Mr. Bull found in his garden this morning a snap- ping turtle about twenty rods from the brook, which had there just made around hole (apparently with head) 24 inches in diameter and 5+deep, in a slant- ing direction. I brought her home and put her into a pen in the garden that she might lay (she weighed seven pounds five ounces), but she climbed over an a upright fence of smooth stakes twenty-two inches high.

A catbird’s nest eight feet high on a pitch pine in Emerson’s heater piece, partly of paper. A summer yellowbird’s, saddled on an apple, of cot- ton-wool, lined with hair and feathers, three eggs, white with flesh-colored tinge and purplish-brown and black spots. Two hair-birds’ nests fifteen feet high on apple trees at R. W. E.’s (one with two eggs). A robin’s nest with young, which was lately, in the great wind, blown down and somehow lodged on the lower part of an evergreen by arbor, — without spilling the young!

Saw a white lily in Everett’s Pond. Sparrow’s nest, four eggs, deep in the moist bank beyond cherry-bird’s nest (have three), of peculiar color. She deserted the nest after one was taken. Out- side of stubble, scantily lined with fibrous roots. Clams abundant within three feet of shore, and bream-nests. The early grass is ripe or browned, and clover is drying. Peetweets make quite a noise calling to their young with alarm. On an apple at R. W. E.’s a small pewee’s nest, on a horizontal branch, seven feet high, almost wholly of hair, cotton without, not incurved at edge; four eggs, pale cream-color.

At 6 p. M. the temperature of the air is 77°, of river one rod from shore 72°. Warmest day yet.

Probably a redstart’s nest (?) on a white oak sapling, twelve feet up, on forks against stem. Have it. See young redstarts about. Hear of flying squirrels now grown.