INE HILLS now has a fairly good number 
of the earliest birds. Robins, bluebirds 
and song-sparrows are flying about joyously 
singing in every district, while from the open 
fields floats the meadow lark’s weird call, “ Hear 
me sing.” 
Over on the “ Ridge” the noisy flicker calls 
quit, quit, quit, quit, quit, quit; and a group of 
grackles in the tops of the seven pines awk- 
wardly crane and cramp their necks in the effort 
to gurgle up their clumsy spring notes. These 
grackles winter South, but have now broken 
camp and are distributing themselves through 
the Northern States. A month hence they will 
be settled in small companies in favorite resorts, 
two of which are the pines on the Manning 
Boulevard and the group of spruce at the upper 
end of the park lake. 
It is yet early for bluebirds to settle to house- 
keeping, but they are busy house inspecting. 
There are twenty-five or more houses put up on 
Pine Hills for their use, with the prospect that 
they will all be occupied. Of course the ever 
present English sparrows contest all rights but 
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