ISO FROM SPRING TO FALL. 



Very soon, from various causes, which bear more 

 or less upon them, the nests of the wilder birds will 

 be hard to find; one's journeys in quest of them 

 become longer and longer, with small results to 

 compensate for the trouble. 



It is a glorious day ; the last of the leaves have 

 not yet fallen from the moorland trees, although the 



mountain-ashes have lost both berries and leaves 



for the birds, without exception, eat these rich crim- 

 son clusters first of all. We are tramping up a 

 stony hollow of the moor — call it a road if you like, 

 out of courtesy— but rough bits of moor stone fall 

 on it from the banks on either side and impede the 

 progress. As we reach the highest part of the road, 

 which is in point of fact the face of a worked-out 

 stone-quarry where some of the great ledges left yet 

 project, we very cautiously examine the place for 

 hawk signs. In spite of persecution, which has to 

 my certain knowledge been exercised for forty years 

 here, hawks — principally sparrow-hawks — have used 

 this spot as a resting-place. As no bird is perching 

 there just now, we walk into the hollow of the 

 quarry and look up, to see that some have been 

 there, and quite recently too, for the grey lichen- 



