2 14 The I) ish Naturalist. October, 



but unlike other waders the}' use no well-defined alarm note on 

 beino' disturbed. In the course of nianv vears' obseivations 

 by myself and friends, we had never met with Sanderling in 

 the Bay of Dublin after the last week in June, there was 

 alwaj's an interval between that date and the early days of 

 August, when the northern breeding birds with their 3-oung 

 beo:an to appear. The result of my observations tends, I think, 

 to show the importance of keeping a close watch on a given 

 localit}' if one hopes to add new facts to its ornithology. A 

 small silent motor-boat I found excellent for cruising along 

 the shores of the Shelly Bank at high tide, for it did not 

 disturb the resting birds. Clad in a sand-coloured Burbury 

 suit and hat, I have often crawled, even in bright daylight, 

 over the dr>' sand, face down, and lying as flat as possible, 

 and progressing crocodile fashion, by the assistance of my 

 elbows and knees, taking advantage of every little depression 

 and the scanty grass-covered inequalities of the surface, 

 have approached within twenty 3'ards of large mixed flocks of 

 Dunlin, Ringed Plover, and Sanderling on the bank, all stand- 

 ing at attention and eyeing the unusual object approaching. 

 Singling out the Sanderling, some sleeping in little groups by 

 themselves, others scattered amongst the flocks, b}' the aid of 

 m\' glass I have been able closely to note the diversities of 

 their plumage and other points of interest. 



There is something peculiarly satisfying to the field 

 naturalist and house-dweller, thus to pit his intelligence 

 against the wild boundless freedom of these suspicious little 

 creatures, ever on their guard in their efforts for self-preserva- 

 tion. Though these same birds would never allow an intruder, 

 walking erect, to approach within eighty yards, I have on 

 some occasions made my way through a scattered flock in the 

 manner described without alarming them, to get at more dis- 

 tant birds in interesting plumages. In my experience both 

 land and sea birds dislike a high wind, and sometimes when 

 I have been lying on the bank, with a gale blowing and the 

 sand driving along a foot off the ground, I have been greatly 

 interested in watching the various little dodges of the waders 

 all round me to obtain shelter from the biting blasts and the 

 blowing sand. The discomfort was shared by myself, for with 

 my eyes on the level of the ground, my glass became useless, 

 getting covered with sand. It is then that the advantage of a 



