SHORE-BIRD LOITERERS 



241 



We anchor the yacht well off and go ashore in the flat- 

 bottomed tender. No sooner do we land than we see two or 

 four of the Oyster-catchers pattering along ahead of us. Then 

 a pair take to wing and dash by us, at some distance, across 

 the sand and out over the water, uttering piercing cries that 

 call up floods of shore-bird memories. Everywhere we go we 

 shall have oyster-catcher company, until we leave the place. 

 The eggs are lying exposed to view on the open sand, hatched 

 largely in the daytime by the warm southern solar rays. They 

 are not hard to find, if only one tra\'erse the sand-bar faith- 

 fully and keep his eyes always alert. 



Except in the breeding-season, the Oyster-catcher is a most 

 wary bird, and even at that time it is shy enough. To photo- 

 graph it is a matter of extreme difficulty. It will not allow 



viy^^^ 





'•-■\*-'>ir? 



NEST AND EGGS OF OYSTER-CATCHER 



