58 Staten Island Association of Arts and Sciences 



stopped and turned his left side to me, and again ran on up the 

 shore. It was discovered that he was bHnd in the right eye. 

 This bird bathed at short intervals by wading out up to his belly 

 and splashing the water with his wings. Then he would stand on 

 the shore preening his feathers for some time, and when all dry 

 would go in for another bath. One day a flock of seven semi- 

 palmated sandpipers arrived at the cove in the barnyard, and one 

 was lame. A solitary sandpiper that arrived on the scene limped 

 perceptibly, but was nevertheless very wild, and would be off on 

 the wing one moment and back on the shore the next. Then 

 there was a poor least sandpiper that had been terribly wounded. 

 One leg was drawn up painfully and remained always in that 

 position. His tail had evidently been struck by a stray shot, for 

 several of the feathers hung down out of place. Now and then 

 he engaged in a little feeding, but for the greater part of the time 

 he stood about in shallow water as if meditating. He was a 

 pitiable object to behold, and no doubt perished before the mi- 

 gration southward had gone far, for in the bird world life is one 

 great struggle for the survival of the fittest. 



One day while I was working on the eastern side of the pond 

 a semipalmated or ringneck plover wheeled in from the outer 

 beach and lit on the same sandbar with the camera. At the time 

 I was some distance from the end of the thread that connected 

 with the camera, but hastened to reach it as quickly as possible. 

 The bird ran a few steps and stopped at the exact point upon 

 which the camera had been focused. However, before the thread 

 could be reached, he had moved out of position, and a few sec- 

 onds later took wing and was off again to the outside beach. 

 This opportunity has never been repeated. 



AH sorts of exasperating experiences and conditions were con- 

 stantly occurring. When work was being done on the eastern 

 shore, people passed not infrequently, and generally happened 

 along just as a half hour's work was about to be brought to a 

 successful conclusion. Or perhaps just at the critical moment a 

 cloud would drift across the sun and hopelessly darken things. 



