122 BIRD BIOGRAPHIES 



lilies and other aquatic plants, picking 

 up insects and enjoying their little lives. 



Year after year, into this creek came 

 two small birds. Whether it was the 

 same pair each season it was not easy 

 to say, but as surely as we heard the 

 Cuckoo's loud call, or listened to the 

 twitter of the Swallows as they darted 

 over the lake, as surely did we hear the 

 chatty little song of the Reed-Warblers, 

 for as soon as they had completed their 

 long journey from the south, they seemed 

 to settle down in their home and begin 

 to look out for the site for their nest. 

 Day after day they could be seen in the 

 waving reeds, talking harshly all the 

 time ; but although there seemed at first 

 to be a deal of uncertainty about the 

 actual site, they always eventually settled 

 on practically the same spot as they used 

 in previous years. 



The most difficult part of the nest 

 building was fixing the foundations ; 



