. Bird-land echoes; . ne, except here and there an isolatedpair that remain to breed. Very different in eveiy way and in all respectslovable is the little spotted sand-piper that every oneabout here knows as the teeter-tiltup, and a moredescriptive name was never coined. I look forpleasant weather when the teeter comes ; for Aprilis well advanced, the water-side plants are growingfast, the nesting bluebirds warble is in the air, song-sparrows are merry, and now, just above the wavesof the sparkling river, I see them—the first pair of theseason—hurrying along from point to point up stream, Wher
. Bird-land echoes; . ne, except here and there an isolatedpair that remain to breed. Very different in eveiy way and in all respectslovable is the little spotted sand-piper that every oneabout here knows as the teeter-tiltup, and a moredescriptive name was never coined. I look forpleasant weather when the teeter comes ; for Aprilis well advanced, the water-side plants are growingfast, the nesting bluebirds warble is in the air, song-sparrows are merry, and now, just above the wavesof the sparkling river, I see them—the first pair of theseason—hurrying along from point to point up stream, Where Runs the Tide. 191 as if looking for their home of last summer ; andthe pretty peet-weet, so constantly repeated, givesevidence of their satisfaction at being here oncemore. But these birds by no means confine them-selves to the river-shore ; they wander inland untilevery pond, every brook, every spring-hole has beenfound, and, once discovered, these places are sureto be immediately occupied, Amid such surround-. Teeter Tiltup, ings I have ever found them, except when on briefvisits or at unseasonable times, and in early springI always look forward with pleasure to their coming,for they are to the water what swallows are to theair. They fill a place that no other bird can fill,and leave a painful void when they depart. Theyare not, so to speak, exasperating transient visitors,but come to stay, and are the life of the place 192 Bird-Land Echoes. where they decide to nest About the Httle hollowin the grass where their precious eggs are laid theyhover with amusing solicitude, and their anxiety isunbounded when the eggs are hatched, for fear thatsome mishap will occur to the funny little teetersthat for some hours have enough to do to keep upontheir legs. They learn quickly by imitation, how-ever, and can soon run through the thickest growthsof grass with amazing rapidity. Of the whole group of wading birds, this spottedsand-piper, the pretty teeter, is the only one thateven
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1890, booksubjectbirds, bookyear1896
