September 16.
The jay screams; the goldfinch twitters; the barberries are red. The corn is topped. I hear a warbling vireo in the village, which I have not heard for long, and the common che-wink note in the woods. Some birds, like some flowers, begin to sing again in the fall.
The jay screams; the goldfinch twitters; the barberries are red. The corn is topped. I hear a warbling vireo in the village, which I have not heard for long, and the common che-wink note in the woods. Some birds, like some flowers, begin to sing again in the fall.
The rippled blue surface of Fair Haven from the Cliffs, with its smooth white border where weeds preserve the surface smooth, a placid silver-plated rim. The pond is like the sky with a border of whitish clouds in the horizon.
Yesterday it rained all day. What makes this such a day for hawks? There are eight or ten in sight from the Cliffs, large and small, one or more with a white rump.
I detect the transit of the first by his shadow on the rock, and look toward the sun for him. Though he is made light beneath to conceal him, his shadow betrays him.
Now I see a large one circling and circling higher and wider. This way he comes. How beautiful does he repose on the air in the moment when he is directly over you and you see the form and texture of his wings. How light he must make himself before he can thus soar and sail.
Now I see a large one circling and circling higher and wider. This way he comes. How beautiful does he repose on the air in the moment when he is directly over you and you see the form and texture of his wings. How light he must make himself before he can thus soar and sail.
They are out by families; while one is circling this way, another circles that; kites without strings. Where is the boy that flies them? Are not the hawks most observed at this season?
H. D. Thoreau, Journal, September 16, 1852
Some birds, like some flowers, begin to sing again in the fall. See October 23, 1853 ("Many phenomena remind me that now is to some extent a second spring, — not only the new-springing and blossoming of flowers, but the peeping of the hylodes for some time, and the faint warbling of their spring notes by many birds. . . .")
I detect the transit of the first by his shadow on the rock, and look toward the sun for him. See May 11, 1855 ("It is most impressive when, looking for their nests, you first detect the presence of the bird by its shadow."); September 27, 1857 ("I see the shadow of a hawk flying above and behind me. I think I see more hawks nowadays.")
Some birds, like some flowers, begin to sing again in the fall. See October 23, 1853 ("Many phenomena remind me that now is to some extent a second spring, — not only the new-springing and blossoming of flowers, but the peeping of the hylodes for some time, and the faint warbling of their spring notes by many birds. . . .")
I detect the transit of the first by his shadow on the rock, and look toward the sun for him. See May 11, 1855 ("It is most impressive when, looking for their nests, you first detect the presence of the bird by its shadow."); September 27, 1857 ("I see the shadow of a hawk flying above and behind me. I think I see more hawks nowadays.")
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