THERE is uneasiness in the woods. The ducks are rest- 

 less. Within the past few days small flocks have been 

 seen making short flights from lake to lake. A chill 

 north wind which swept cross-country from the Canadian bor- 

 der brought a message that the summer is ended. In a short 

 time now just as soon as a few more frosts have nipped the 

 leaves in the woods and cold night winds come regularly, 

 Minnesota will lose part of its game. 



The latter part of September or during the month of Octo- 

 ber, if the season is regular, the ducks will start South. A 

 few small flocks at first, then an increasing number till the 

 great droves of mallards and canvasbacks which have sum- 

 mered in the North woods and through that region of Canada 

 which extends to the edge of the frozen Northland all will 

 fly with the coming of cold. Little wild birds which have 

 spent the first six months of their existence beneath the 

 shade of pine, birch and tamarack and hidden in the reeds 

 of Minnesota's wild lakes, have become strong enough to fly 

 and their first voyage will soon be under way. 



Short, Nervous Flights Precede the Gathering on Common 

 Feeding Ground. 



According to those who have studied the habits of the wild 

 duck, the first approach of winter the first chill wind and 

 the first white frosts, cause the flocks to begin collecting. 

 The parent birds with their little ones about them, all of 

 which have been taught the use of their wings, start short 

 trips away from the native feeding ground. A small distance 

 today, a larger one tomorrow and so on till the wings of the 

 young have become strong and ready for the hard journey 

 South. These flights, taken with so much regularity, make 

 it appear as though the birds were restless and fearful. The 

 settlers take the movement to mean that winter is approach- 



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