Wadkks. 103 



XVII. 



WADERS. 



By C. Barnby Smith. 



Those small marsh or sea shore birds popularly known as 

 " Waders" are, I think, very interesting in many respects, but in 

 this beyond all, that they, with a little difficulty, may have their 

 enclosure so arranged as to make a pleasing little picture in the 

 garden — a thing that cannot be done with many other kinds of 

 birds. Water, of course, is a necessity, but this need not be in 

 great volume if it is kept fresh. My own arrangement as regards 

 water for my small Waders' aviary is a little pond formed by a 

 concrete bed about 5 yards by 3 yards edged with brick cemented 

 walls about 3 feet high, the top of the walls being below ground 

 level. The bottom of this little pond I covered with earth and 

 sods to an average depth of about I2 feet, sloped the earth out- 

 side the pond in banks down to the top of the walls, covered the 

 top of the walls with sods of coarse growing grass, planted 

 rushes, flags, and semi-aquatic vegetation in and around the pond 

 (making one miniature island in addition), with the result that 

 the fact that the pond is artificially constructed is by no means 

 apparent. The water is supplied by pipe just above the level of 

 the walls, and as the adjoining soil is gravel and sand I merely 

 turn on a tap outside the aviary for a short time every few days 

 and let the pond overflow and the surplus water drain away into 

 the surrounding soil. 



Near the pond are a few square yards of sand, which is 

 kept fresh by raking and a fresh sprinkling of sand given weekly. 

 In one corner of the aviary is a little shelter shed open on two 



