. Bird-lore . August; buthereabouts the first week inSeptember sees the great,smoky, cloudlike flock ofthe Bank Swallows settlingon the beach edge, where the campers so recently reigned, and, even at low tide,mingling with the Peeps that patter about the water-edge. A sudden frightwill separate the flocks, and show the great difiference in flight,—the Sand-pipers skimming low o\-er the water, while the Bank Swallows settle on thebay-bushes, or else cling to the rough roofs of a shore cottage, like an array ofclose-set, feathered shingles. Exactly what form of animal life drew the Swallows to t
. Bird-lore . August; buthereabouts the first week inSeptember sees the great,smoky, cloudlike flock ofthe Bank Swallows settlingon the beach edge, where the campers so recently reigned, and, even at low tide,mingling with the Peeps that patter about the water-edge. A sudden frightwill separate the flocks, and show the great difiference in flight,—the Sand-pipers skimming low o\-er the water, while the Bank Swallows settle on thebay-bushes, or else cling to the rough roofs of a shore cottage, like an array ofclose-set, feathered shingles. Exactly what form of animal life drew the Swallows to the sand had beenfor some time a mystery until, a few days ago, chancing to be at the beach whena quantity of broad-leaved seaweed, fermented by the sun, was sending fortha particularly stale odor, I saw that the mass, edging tide-water for severalhundred feet, was swarming with flies, and it was upon these that the Swallowswere feeding so eagerly. After all, first and last, the food-supply is thegreat YOUNG BLACK-CROWXED NIGHT HERON IN THEMARSH PIT BEYOND BLUEBIRD FARM Birds and Seasons in My Garden 231 To a trumpet-vine that has made itself into an upright form by clinging to anold-fashioned summer pear tree, we owe the presence of Baltimore Orioles dur-ing the molting season, and up to the very last day of their stay, the latter part ofthe month. Their presence, to be sure, was at the price of the perfect beauty ofthe flowers; for, barely was one of the long clustered buds ready to unfold, whenit was pierced at the base by the Orioles slender bill, even as he attacked theapple blossoms in May. Then, when the flower-supply fails, these birds move tothe grape arbor below the Thrashers Shrubbery, where are gathered thederelicts of the garden grapes, profuse in yield, though deficient in tablequality, upon which all the birds are welcome to feast. One of the great secretsof a happy garden (or garden happiness, if you prefer the wording) is to haveplenty of gleanings ali
Size: 1482px × 1686px
Photo credit: © Reading Room 2020 / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ., boo, bookcentury1800, bookdecade1890, booksubjectbirdsperiodicals
