200 Bird-Land Echoes. 



These river-shore birds come early in the spring, 

 but do not tarry, and not until late in July and 

 throughout August do they become prominent. 

 Then the long mud-flats that are exposed at low tide 

 offer them excellent feeding-grounds, and during 

 the early morning they are often very numerous 

 and noisy ; but knowing to what dangers they are 

 exposed, they soon take refuge in the tall grass, 

 the wild rice, or wherever there is shelter, and the 

 chances are that; you will see but little of them. 

 Above tide-water their tactics change, and they will 

 effectually hide themselves among stones on the 

 little islands in the river. I have known them to 

 squat among pebbles and remain motionless until I 

 was well away, when they would sail off and be 

 quickly out of reach ; but I always knew of their 

 going, though my back was turned, as their mellow, 

 flute-like whistle — pJiec-oou^ a dozen times repeated 

 — ^was unmistakable and ever loud enough to be 

 heard above the roar of the water as it hurried over 

 its rocky bed. When you have once learned this 

 note it is never forgotten ; and I doubt if you can 

 hear it, or a successful imitation, without calling up 

 some pretty view of land and water, shade and sun- 

 shine, with a line of yellow-legs flitting across the 

 summer sky. 



During the summer of 1895 there was a protracted 

 and disastrous drought. The near-by mill-pond was 

 shrunken to a mere pool and the shallow head-waters 

 failed to cover the long, narrow mud-bank, above 

 which protruded the trunks of trees felled nearly a 



