AUTUMN 



ing grounds for numerous flocks, but 

 now only a few pair survive the hunt- 

 ers' guns. The flicker's call is heard, 

 and the roadsides are alive with their 

 numerous flocks. Goldfinches pass by 

 in flashing dipping waves, twittering 

 as they go from tree to tree. Robins 

 are seen about the woods much more 

 than at any other time of the year, 

 and help to dispel the quiet that seems 

 to lurk about at times. The hawks 

 have no thought of departing yet for 

 the South, and sail overhead in the 

 warm sunshine for many hours a day. 

 Often the noisy blue jay passes 

 through, and if there are any strangers 

 about or nuts to be stolen he will be 

 there to give the alarm. The pair of 

 blue herons who built their nest in an 

 adjacent woods often come to the pond 

 in the early morning to hunt for food 

 and wait silently like reeds in the shal- 

 low water. But a restlessness unlike 

 the Spring ambition impels all fea- 

 thered creatures to be ever on the alert, 

 anticipating the migratory flight, when 

 they shall rise in the dim light and 

 drift down the pathway of the skies. 

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