The daily morning journal and courier., 1902-07-19

| feet, and as I stopped I saw that beau tiful reptile the green snake. twined amongst the grass blades. l took it | in my hand-a gentle. harmless crea- ture. though it is a serpent. It wound it's graceful grass-green coils about my fingers. and gazed about it 1 wonderingly. with eyes which slone like polished jewels. l released it and it passed away into the weeds. l As I neared the river, saw half sunken log literally covered with painted turtles. Still as they were. 1 they were evidently on the alert. and before I reached the shore they 1 had all scrambled into the water. Slow of limb they may be, but their eye sight is very keen, and it is by no means easy to catch them by stealing upon them unawares. As they lie stunning themselves, their dry shells look muddy brown, but the moment they enter the water. the moisture brings out the beautiful red and yellow l markings.
 1 As I looked along the river to- wards it's mouth, I saw great bird sweeping in broad circles over the water, and I recognized a friend of other days-the osprey or f1sh-haWk. The splendid bird wheeled about on rigid wings, with eyes directed to the surface of the river. Presently he saw a fish. for he checked his circling flight and prepared to descend upon his prey. For moment he lowered above the spot, balancing himself by rapidly Tapping his wings in front of his body, and then down he dropped with great speed. striking the water smartly and finging the spray many feet into the air, For some seconds he was lost to view beneath the surface, but soon he arose, with legs extended downwards, and it could be seen that he bore fish in his talons. He shook the water from his plumage, changed the position of the struggling fish un- til he carried it head foremost, and then set sail towards wooded head land perhaps a mile away. I carefully noted the direction and started for the headland in the hope of finding the osprey's nest. I was not disap- pointed, for upon approaching the wood I heard the shrill whistling of both birds and saw them mount high in the air. and hover anxiously above the tree tops. I soon found the nest in large oak tree, and about forty feet from the ground, and the nearer IT approached the more excited the old hawk became. One of them had a fish in it's claws-a mackerel, judged. by the shape-and as I start ed to climb the tree the bird lost its head so far as to drop its prey. In an instant the osprey was under way and in less than six feet had the fish in it's talons again.
 It was very easy to reach the nest, but quite difficult to look into it. ow- ing to its enormous bulk It was per- haps five feet in height, and nearly four feet in diameter. and lowered above me like an enormous loosely woven basket. After considerable trouble I managed to crawl up over the side. and there in the nest lay two well-fed. well-feathered young birds about the size of bullets, and which must have weighed about three and a half pounds apiece The nest was practically a solid mass of build ing material, chiefly sticks with a thick lining of moss. seaweed, and f1brous bark near the top The rim projected but two or three inches above the floor.
 The young birds lay with necks ex- tended on the floor of the nest, but
 when I put out my hand, they stood up, erected their feathers, and, with their big black bills and talons and yellow eyes, assumed a very fierce ex- pression. They reminded me of old-
 fashioned pictures of Griffins. I re- mained at the nest perhaps fifteen minutes and during that time the parent birds did not attempt to mo- ? lest me.
 ERNEST HAROLD BAYNEs,