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~THE AUDUBON BULLETIN 
1932 
Flashlights of Birds 
By ‘TAappAN GREGORY 
‘The wind had died to a whisper and the surface of our favorite north 
woods lake was unrufled. No sound disturbed the unbroken stillness of 
a warm Summer night. “Che moon was dark and the light of the ranging 
jack gratifyingly effective in the starlight. Ahead, a stream murmured its 
way to the waters of the lake. At last the welcome sound of splashing 
riveted our attention. Deer in the offing! And more than one! ‘Their 
dim outlines became visible and success seemed assured. But there was 
a complication. A long, dead log lay white and stark in our path. Not 
enough in itself to make trouble, but the unusual formation on the end 
of one of its scraggly, upstanding stubs caught the eye. A Great Blue 
Heron sleepily unwound his long neck, became alert and poised for flight. 
“We dared not try to pass. _He would surely fly. “Too often had the 
measured swish of great wings and the hoarse squawk of an unseen 
traveler close overhead served notice that we might expect to find our deer 
uneasy. No time now to change course or temporize. Besides, a Heron 
was a worthy subject, infrequently encountered. We flashed him without 
regret and listened philosophically to the frantic surge of terrified deer 
through shallow water. 
Soon the night was still again. We glided slowly into the stream 
and on up its quiet reaches, closely guarded by trees, canopied by their 
branches, through which the stars sparkled in the dark sky. The rays of 
the jack, lighting the overhanging branches from below, gave an eerie 
effect to the scene. Shadows crept in and out from shore and grew and 
disappeared before our eyes, uncanny to watch, as we followed the wind- 
ings of the stream. Our Heron was ahead of us, perched, alert, on an 
overhanging dead limb. Nearby, a deer sloshed about, feeding. ‘The 
temptation was too great. We waited for the chance to photograph deer 
“>and bird together and lost them both. 
Several times on succeeding nights we found this friend of ours 
perched on his dead stub in the shallows at the head of the lake, but only 
once again did he wait for us. 
