The professional world. (Columbia, Mo.) 1901-192?, 1902-11-07
H EAGLES NEST.
1t is a Gigantic Affair, Affording Free
Access and Easy Exit.

Not long ago l had the good fortune
to discover from a car window an eagle
nest. In September, 1899, while pass
ing North Springfield, Ohio, not far
from Girard, | noticed in the top of a
dead tree a huge dark object which at
once aroused my curiosity. This prov
ed to be a well known landmark, an
aery of the white-headed eagle, which
had been Occupied for years and was
known to every workman on the road.
Possibly no one now living in Girard
can remember when there were no ca
giles nesting in their neighborhood.
For many years this pair or their pre-
decessors are said to have occupied an
old Shell OF a sycamore in the midst of
the woods at Milesgrove. Pa, not far
from the station. When this aged tree
finally succumbed to the storm, the Sec
ond and more famous nest was begun
at North Springfield in 1885.
h lasted fifteen years until Janu-
airy 1900. With the aid of the photo
graphs of this nest, made in May, 1899,
and actual measurements upon the
PROSTATE tree, | was able to determine
the exact dimensions of the nest itself.
1t was nine feet tall and six feet in
diameter, and contained enough wood.
earth and stubble to fill a good-sized
hayrack. Until it's overthrow it rested
IN the skeleton arms of a huge sycamore,
which had become reduced to a shell
OF barry and rotten wood for many yards
from it's base. The top of the nest was
exactly seventy-seven feet from the
ground, and the tree trunk measured
three and a half feet in its greatest di-
ameter. The tree suffered a general col
lapse in it's fall, but the simple con-
struction of the nest could easily be
made out. It's foundations and outer
walls were composed of dead sticks of
any length from six inches to four
feet, laid crosswise and packed closely
together. Som of the larger fagots
were two inches thick and a yard long.
The sticks also supported the center
of the nest, where the interstices were
filled with straw, weeds, corn stubble,
and much earth brought in with the
latter. In consequence of annual re-
pairs carried on during fifteen years. !
this nest had risen until it was three
feet taller than broad, while the first
years nest is several times broader
than deep.
Though it's lease may be short, the
eagle chooses well in placing it's aery
on the commanding summit Of q dead
tree which stands boldly against the
sky, for it's home is always in sight
and easily guarded; but, best of all, it
can come and go with perfect freedom,
there being no foliage or branches to
interfere with the broad sweep of it's
wings. Accordingly, | was a little sur
prised to find the new nest 20 only in
a sycamore which had thus been pre-
ferred for the third time, but in a live
and healthy one, which seemed good
for a hundred years. 1t had a girth of
IL feet at the ground, and a clean, |
straight hole without a branch for 40
feet, at which point it suddenly spread
and bent its arms, forming a spacious
and secure support for a nest of great
size. This huge spreading crotch had
evidently attracted the birds, although
close beside it rose a stately tulip tree,
whose branches touched those of the
sycamore and partly overshadowed
them.
On approaching this nest, not a
sound was heard for fully 20 minutes,
when suddenly the male came upon the
scene, and, circling overhead, sounded
peculiar alarm-kak! kak! kak! !
Then, alightinC in the topmost branch
of q dead tree, he expressed his emo-
ton in the characteristic manner in
which he shares, in some degree, at
least, with other birds of kin as remote
as the night hawk. With depressed
head and outstretched neck, with
dropped and quivering wings, his man
libles would open and close as If moved
by springs, and he uttered his pro-
4onged monosyllabic cry Of distress. To
my surprise, the female was sitting
at the nest all the time, as
evident when she suddenly left
t, and. with protesting screams, began
o circle over the tree tops. Both birds
had evidently become shy and sus-
of visitors since their former
CENTRAL N. u. .-.----NO. 5000