down and eyes intently scanning the ground, heedless of their sur 
roundings, until a step close by frightens them away a short distance, 
where the search for food begins again. They lack the pretty con¬ 
fiding ways of the redpoll, and awaken but little interest. 
The young yellow wagtails were also numerous at this time, and 
searched damp spots in and about the yard for insects, their long 
slender tails balancing up and down with a jaunty air. When the 
tide went down they gathered along high-water mark to feast on the 
fare there provided. Flitting from rock to rock, or picking their way 
daintily from place to place, they offered a pleasing picture until, 
their hunger satisfied, they arose and passed one by one to the bare 
hillsides, where they remained until hunger called them back again. 
In the latter part of July the garden was the center of attraction 
for several species of warblers, which reveled among the insects of 
the lettuce and turnip beds. The black-capped flycatcher was the 
most numerous, although at times the black-poll warbler was about 
equally common. Now and then a yellow warbler enlivened the place 
like a ray of sunshine. Numerous young golden-crowned warblers, 
and an occasional willow warbler, appeared at this time, and searched 
the crevices of the fences, and even the eaves of the houses, for in¬ 
sects. Along wet paths leading away from the houses, and some¬ 
times from the yard itself, stray water-wagtails and titlarks were 
sometimes started. 
Golden-crowned and white-crowned sparrows claimed their 
share of attention at this time, as they levied their tax upon the 
garden, or flitted from fence to fence, ready to dive into a weed-patch 
at the first alarm. The fox sparrow returned for a short and timid 
farewell before seeking winter quarters, and was followed by the 
tree sparrow. 
Stray robins showed themselves once or twice during the sum¬ 
mer, but a single brief visit to the garden was enough for them. A 
few gray-cheeked thrushes usually appeared silently for a day or 
two. More rarely still a wheatear appeared, skulking about the ends 
of the houses, then hastening to take shelter in crevices among the 
stones on the beach. A few white-bellied swallows fraternized a few 
days with the barn swallows before going south; and the latter were 
busy during August preparing their young for the long journey to 
warmer lands. 
Sometimes black-breasted turnstones visited wet places about the 
houses, while the semipalmated sandpiper was always numerous, 
adventurous individuals even passing under the fence and investigat- 
36 
