i6 BEACH GRASS 



1 made a salty, springy bed of dried eel grass, 

 thatch and Irish moss on the soft upper beach, 

 on which I spread my sleeping bag. Although 

 at evening and at morning the sea was separated 

 from my bed by nearly a quarter of mile of 

 beach, about midnight I was dimly aware that 

 the waves were pounding and roaring ominously 

 not far from my feet. At this uncertain time of 

 night the bird calls above still proclaimed the 

 passing hosts. 



When I awoke for the day I watched the sun 

 rise over the sea, and I realized in the absence of 

 bird calls that the flight for the night was over, 

 and that the birds had settled for the day for rest 

 and food. 



My steps were first directed to the nearest 

 thicket, for it was evident that most of the birds 

 would seek the shelter of trees and bushes. On 

 the way I came upon some pipits that had ar- 

 rived during the night, very probably from Lab- 

 rador, and had found congenial surroundings on 

 the bare sand amid tufts of beach grass. In a 

 thicket less than half an acre in extent of alder 

 and gray birch, with an undergrowth of bayberry, 



