The following is from Clinton G. Abbott’s
birding journal. Abbott was the summer tutor of Maunsell
Crosby of Rhinebeck during 1900 and 1901. They remained friends
for life
with Abbott frequently vacationing at Grasmere, the Crosby estate,
and ultimately buying a farm in Rhinebeck. Together they
started the Rhinebeck Bird Club in 1914. Abbott moved to
San Diego in 1921
to become director of the Natural History Museum. The original
journal is in the museum archives.
Friday, June 23 [1905]
I started my vacation today, leaving for Rhinebeck on the 3.40. I
saw practically nothing from the train but crows, with one kingfisher
to vary the monotony. Maunsell met me at
the
station,
and as we drove up we spied an evidently new vireo’s
nest at the end of one of the limbs directly over the road;
we did
not stop to investigate it
… Veeries were singing beautifully in the woods all about. Maunsell
showed me where a pair of red-shouldered hawks nested this
spring (in almost identically the same place as last year) he
says the
whole family are now constantly seen about.
Bluebirds, house wrens and phoebes had all nested around the
house this year, but none of the nests are inhabited now.
Saturday, June 24 [1905]
Maunsell & I got an early start this morning and went off
through Coon Woods in the direction of the Mill Pond. Coon Woods — once
a most productive field — did not furnish much in the way
of bird-life. The old chat & indigo bird [indigo bunting]
tangles have been eaten away by cattle, while the spot where
the black
billed cuckoo & golden winged warbler nested are, on the
other hand, now too dense for the liking of any birds. No
herons nested
in the wood this year; the sand-bank is also life-less. At
the mill-pond we failed to see a night heron as we had hoped,
but
the voice of my ever elusive swamp sparrow sounded tantalizingly
from
the marshes. We did not find any nests before breakfast
but a Baltimore Oriole’s in which noisy young were being
fed; however, our list of species already stood at 41 species.
After breakfast we made tracks for the orchard
and decided to search it tree by tree, as in days of old. The
task occupied us all morning
and even then we had not nearly finished the trees. However we
found the following:
1. Chipping sparrows (bird sitting)
2. “ “ (2 eggs)
3. Baltimore Oriole (young)
4. Bluebird (2 young, 1 egg)
5. “ (bird sitting)
6. Song sparrow (2 young, 1 egg)
7. Kingbird (being built)
8. Robin (4 eggs)
9. “ (1 egg, 1 young)
10. Robin (3 eggs)
11. Catbird (3 eggs)
12. Cedarbird [cedar waxwing] (ready for eggs)
13. “ (1 egg)
14. Wood thrush (2 young)
Number 5 was the same nest Phil [Phillip Manson-Bahr, a friend
who visited from England] & I photographed in 1903. She has
already raised one brood this year. Beside the foregoing list we
kept track of the old or empty nests found which amounted to 25
robins, 9 chippies, and 2 cedarbirds. The wood thrush’s
nest was saddled on a horizontal apple bough in a most unusual
position
for this species. The two young were ready to leave the nest
at any moment. We were of course struck by the entire absence
of goldfinches,
cuckoos and doves and the comparative scarcity of cedarbirds
in comparison with previous years, but such variations in the
bird-life
of a region cannot be readily explained.
In the afternoon I found that there were two
eggs in the chippy’s
nest at the Beach’s door. On a little spruce bush
near the lake two beautiful large cecropia moths were observed
copulating;
and as Maunsell and I were watching them a song sparrow crept
stealthily out of the bottom of the bush, revealing a nest and
4 eggs. On
the other side of the lake Maunsell showed me a wood thrush’s
nest of which he knew; he says it contains 3 eggs, but we did
not disturb the sitting bird today. Striking back into “Lost
Garden” we soon heard the song of the worm-eating warbler
(which we had not found in the accustomed haunt in the Coon Woods
this morning); but we could not follow the bird to its nest. Next
we walked down the Lady’s Mile (where chickadees
were seen feeding full-grown young), and out through the South
Gate
to
a scrubby field with a brook running through it, where we knew
we
should find many birds. Here we soon had yellowthroats,
chats, chestnut sided warblers, golden-winged warblers, towhees
and
catbirds all scolding us at once. Apparently all were solicitous
over full-grown
young, however, which in most cases we found. I might state
here that, as usual, golden-winged warblers are the most abundant
warblers here. It is very interesting what a local species
this is and how
it is always to be found here. They all seem to be entirely full
grown young birds. …
When we left the scrubby field our list of species
for the day stood at 59, and with a desire to raise it to 60
we returned
to the Mill Pond in the hope of seeing a night heron; but we
were
not to be rewarded. Near the Mill Pond I found another
Baltimore oriole’s nest containing noisy young and a redstart’s
containing young about half-grown. The male redstart was fluttering
about his nest in a foolish manner, catching flies for himself,
singing, occasionally looking into the nest, but never feeding
the young. When I climbed the tree he merely hopped about
me singing louder than ever.
… It is remarkable for the complete absence of the white-eyed vireo
(so abundant elsewhere), the black billed cuckoo (once common
here and found especially common in other places this year) and the
dove. Chats, too, are scarcer than formerly, but thrashers seem
to be increasing.
Sunday, June 25 [1905]
I went out on the roof this morning and found a chimney swift’s
nest containing four eggs in the same chimney in which I have
found one every year. There were none in any of the other
chimneys.
After lunch I went with Maunsell to the orchard
to photograph the young wood thrushes in their apple tree nest — as
an interesting addition to my series of “Birds of an Orchard” pictures. One
of them had already flown, but the other I photographed. The
nest is about as flimsy and poor a wood thrush structure as I
ever
saw. I then took the little fellow out of his nest and
posed him on a branch and photographed him again.
Afterwards I searched three old pippin trees
in the orchard which usually harbor some birds’ nests. All
of the many holes and crannies seem to have contained some sort
of a nest this year — great
crested flycatchers, house wrens, bluebirds, woodpeckers and
house sparrows — but although I spent some time climbing
about and peering into each, I could not see that they are inhabited
now. In the branches was a chippy’s
nest. The cedarbird’s nest which yesterday
had one egg now contains two.
The latter part of the afternoon we spent in
taking a walk to “Cedar
Hut” and back. We saw a female marsh hawk (perhaps
the wife of the male we saw yesterday), but little less of interest
in a
bird way. We kept a sharp look out for Savanna sparrows
but could identify none positively. The bobolinks’ period
of song is rapidly passing.
There are two phoebe’s nests attached
to the stone chimney inside Cedar Hut, but both are empty. On
the road to the Hut we
saw a pair of bluebirds near a flicker’s hole high up in
a dead limb, where they undoubtedly had their nest. During
that afternoon a brood of young robins left their nest in the
back
piazza vine.
Monday, June 26 [1905]
Before breakfast this morning Maunsell & I searched Montgomery’s
Walk — at one time one of the most prolific spots about
here. Even now it is still rich in bird-life, and veeries,
wood-thrushes, scarlet tanagers, indigo birds, golden-winged, & chestnut-sided
warblers, catbirds, house wrens and black & white creepers
[black-and-white warbler] soon started to scold us and had us
busy looking for their nests. We found the wood thrush’s
nest with the old bird on, it contained three newly hatched young. We
also found an empty chestnut-side’s nest, so, although
the male is still singing as though his mate was incubating,
these
birds have probably successfully led off their brood. The golden-wings
and black & white creepers were soon disposed of by finding,
as might have been expected, their full fledged young. The
young black & white creeper appeared already to be molting
his first suit. But the other birds were puzzlers, & as
we had not much time we resolved to revisit the spot at another
time.
After breakfast Maunsell took me to a spot on
the edge of the Mill Pond where a pair of rose-breasted grosbeaks
were acting
very suspiciously
a few days ago. We found them in the same spot and they
soon started to scold us in their strange steely monosyllables. We
were equipped
with rubber boots and we spread about and searched among the
alders at the water’s edge. After a while I found
the nest, which was unfortunately empty. Probably the young
have left it,
although
there is just a bare possibility that it has not yet been layed
in. It is only about six feet up, is very flimsy in construction,
and reminded me strongly of the nest of the bird’s close
relative — the cardinal. In the meantime Maunsell
had come upon a red-winged blackbird’s nest & three
recently hatched young, and another empty nest of the same species
close
by. I then
went round to make the acquaintance of a swamp sparrow I had
heard singing on the other side of the pond. But an old
catbird’s
nest was as near as I came to finding the swamp sparrow’s
family.
Returning to the house we found a chippy’s
nest and two eggs in a young spruce, and a catbird’s & three
half grown young in the garden hedge. In an althea tree
close by was a nest which I took for a bulky song sparrows; it
was empty.
About eleven o’clock we drove to the Miller’s
to take a swim and play tennis, according to arrangements made
at church
yesterday. The swim, which we took in Dr. Miller’s
beautiful lake, was most refreshing and so warm was it that we
were loth
to come out even after three quarters of an hour’s bathe. After
lunch we played tennis until about 4.30. Incidentally
we discovered close to the lawn a wood thrush’s nest containing
three half-grown young birds, besides numerous old nests of various
species round about. After tennis, Dr. Miller took us a
grand ride in his new automobile — through Rock City to
Red Hook — after
which we drove home. On the way home we noticed a male
bluebird entering its nesting hole in a telegraph pole. Both
from the
automobile & carriage
we also saw many other nests which we did not stop to investigate.
We felt we had made a pretty full day of it by the time we
reached home - driving, swimming, tennis, automobiling, walking
and bird-nesting!
Tuesday, June 27 [1905]
I have been keeping a watch on the four young song sparrows in
the nest in the garden (which Maunsell showed me last Friday,
and I saw early this morning that they are ready to leave the
nest at any time — in fact I am surprised that they have
stayed in as long as they have. I have in mind trying
the photograph the old bird feeding them, and decided upon
a rustic chair as
a picturesque setting. So before breakfast I set the
chair near the nest for the birds to get used to. The
rest of my
time before
breakfast I spent in searching the garden hedge and neighboring
trees and bushes. I found a chippy’s nest with
two newly hatched young birds, and another of the same species
with two
deserted eggs — both in the hedge. In the pergola??
is a robin’s nest with one egg — very close to
where the first brood of the same pair of birds was raised. My “song
sparrow’s” nest in the althea tree (found yesterday)
contains one robin’s egg!
After breakfast it started to rain before I
could get at my song sparrow and continued until well on in the
morning. When
finally
it did hold up and there was promise of a little sunshine, I
hurried out and prepared to pose the youngsters on the garden
chair. I
expected trouble and I got it! Even with Maunsell’s
help I soon found that four lusty song sparrows were more than
we
could manage, so we let one of them go and satisfied ourselves
with three.
Even these kept our hands full, for as fast as we set one up
his brother (or more usually brothers) would flutter off and
often
give us quite a chase. They had an instinctive habit of
running into some little crevice just large enough to contain
their bodies,
where, harmonizing with the ground, they were very hard to find. At
last, after over an hours posing & re-posing, we
got the three youngsters to sit still for periods of at least
a minute,
and withdrew to the end of our long tube. The parents soon
came about and seemed quite fearless of the camera. They
hopped up
on the chair (though usually in some spot where we had not expected
them!), and before lunch we had made two snaps of a parent bird
with her babies, and one of the babies along. However,
the light was not propitious and I have little hopes of the results.
We replaced the babies in their nest upon leaving
but, as we expected, not one was there when we returned after
lunch. However,
by listening
for their answering peeps, I located three of the youngsters;
but they were now able to move about so rapidly that all finally
escaped
from me.
Abbott and Crosby continued to search for birds and nests, and
to photograph them. They attended the Regatta at Poughkeepsie,
then on June 30 Abbott returned to New York City only to immediately
leave to spend the second week of his vacation at Montauk. Most
of Abbott’s photographs have been saved by his grandson,
but few are labeled with dates and places.
