The Land of the Hills and the Glens 



ingly uncertain as to what evil fate had befallen her unborn 

 family. 



But the birds were not long in recovering from the 

 sorrow at their loss, for within a fortnight a new nesting 

 site had been chosen and four eggs laid. This time the 

 nest was on some shingle about five hundred yards from 

 the burn, and just beside the ruins of a boathouse. Un- 

 fortunately for the birds, the neap tides were on when the 

 hen laid her eggs. During the neap tides high water is 

 several feet lower than during the spring tides, and this 

 the birds found out to their cost a little later on. From 

 the situation of the nest I could see that the eggs stood 

 a very good chance of being washed away by the first 

 high tide, so, together with a fellow bird-lover, kept the 

 nest under observation during the evening high tides. In 

 the Hebrides the evening high tide is noticeably higher 

 than the morning, so it was from the former that the 

 greater danger was to be expected. 



As, day after day, the tides increased, we watched 

 anxiously the waters creep nearer and nearer to the simple 

 home of "the ptarmigan of the waves." One afternoon the 

 tide approached to within a few inches of the eggs, and 

 we made sure that, next night, the nest would be flooded 

 out. I was away from home that day, but my companion 

 reached the nesting-ground well before high water, and 

 when the sea commenced to trickle into the nest, removed 

 the eggs and laid them out of harm's way. The day was 

 fine and sunny, and during the hour that they were out 

 of the nest no harm befell the eggs, for the sun kept them 

 warm until the tide again receded, the nest was left 

 dry once more, and the eggs replaced. Both the ringed 

 plover stood quietly near the nest when it was flooded, but 

 curiously enough showed no signs of anxiety, and did not 

 even utter their alarm cry. When the eggs were replaced, 

 the hen returned to the nest as though nothing unusual 

 had happened. 



136 



