IN THE DUNES 15 



blown as clear as crystal by a sparkling north- 

 west wind, and illuminated by the full moon, 

 and its reflection from the sea and white sand, 

 made the night almost as light as day. There 

 was a brilliancy and ethereal quality suggestive 

 of fairyland. Such nights as these fill one with 

 rapture at the marvelous beauty and mystery of 

 the sand dunes. 



During the evening it was evident that a large 

 migration of small birds was taking place along 

 this highway by the seashore as the air was filled 

 with bird calls that showered down from the sky, 

 but, peer as I would, the birds themselves re- 

 mained invisible, notwithstanding the apparent 

 brilliancy of the air. Only as they cross the face 

 of the moon are such small bodies to be discerned. 



The tide was at its lowest ebb and, on the 

 hard, broad floor of wet sand scattered shore 

 birds were feeding. The short sharp note of the 

 sanderling, the rasping ai-ah of the turnstone and 

 the double whistle of the ring-necked plover 

 sounded from time to time above the roar of the 

 waves. No need for these birds to migrate by 

 night as they are well able to feed at that period. 



