46 OUT WITH THE BIRDS 



beaver chokes some of the ravines as it did in 

 days long gone by. 



We saw little of note as we passed down the 

 steep wood-road, but when we slipped up to the 

 small slough on the river-flat, we found bird life 

 in plenty. A mother pintail duck fluttered up 

 from the marsh grass right at our feet and left 

 exposed to our gaze her nine greenish treasures, 

 with their downy bedding thrown back. It is 

 unusual for this duck to nest so close to the wa- 

 ter ; and evidently she was convinced that the dry 

 spring weather was going to continue. Out on 

 the water, among a number of other relatives, 

 her big, dandified, spike-tailed husband awaited 

 her. A pair of much-attached blue-winged teal 

 and two pairs of green-winged were there close 

 at hand, and at a greater distance two gaudy 

 greenheaded drakes watched us warily. Some- 

 where out in the shrubbery or in the heavy woods 

 — for a mallard will nest almost anywhere — 

 were their spouses, each covering a hatful of 

 eggs, but the teal, being later nesters, had not 

 yet begun to keep house. 



Several red-winged blackbirds were observed 

 to have their mates with them this morning. 

 Red-wing always arrives in the North long ahead 



