IN THE ADIRONDACKS 145 



however, were the hawks, woodpeckers and 

 flycatchers. A Cooper's, sharp shinned, or 

 goshawk might be seen on the top of some 

 dead stub. Sapsuckers and a single flicker 

 one would surely find, and a wood pewee 

 never failed to be trying to decide among 

 the wealth of dead limbs which best suited 

 his especial taste. Once, hearing a yellow- 

 rumped warbler chucking violently as he 

 flew over, I looked up and saw a mite of 

 a humming bird vigorously chasing him 

 toward the woods. At that time of year 

 what offence could he have committed ^ 

 Toward the end of my visit, in Septem- 

 ber, with my host and guide, I started up 

 the lake for a night at the spring. We 

 left the guide to follow us with the provi- 

 sions with orders to meet us at the dam 

 for lunch. As we entered the slough at 

 the head of the lake, a red-breasted mer- 

 ganser and a whistler flew out past us. 

 Each bend in the inlet brought birds in 

 view — it might be a sedate bronzed 

 grackle wading along its shores, a catbird 

 crying in the thicket, a black-billed cuckoo 

 sitting over the crystal water, or some tall 

 tree bending with a flock of cedar birds. 

 Generally, however, it was a solitary sand- 



