Cleaves: Photographic Work with Sandpipers 6i 



The two solitary sandpipers were wary creatures, springing 

 into the air and- making short flights, running about nervously, 

 and wading out belly-deep in the water and keeping one in con- 

 stant fear that they might at any moment be gone for all time. 

 In fact one of them did disappear entirely, and the one that 

 remained seemed all the more wary. However, after many pro- 

 voking disappointments several exposures were finally secured. 



The pond was not visited again until October lo. It was not 

 expected that any sign of life would be present in the barnyard 

 at this late date but on scanning the shore of the' cove I detected 

 a sandpiper. He was preening himself, and as I approached a 

 little closer I could see that this was a new species to me. I did 

 not have my camera blind with me, but did the best I could to 

 photograph him with the camera held in my hand. As many as 

 possible of his characteristics were noted, and his photograph 

 and description were sent to Mr. Waldron DeWitt ]\Iiller of the 

 American IMuseum. Mr. Miller was kind enough to tell me that 

 the bird was undoubtedly either a white-rumped or a pectoral 

 sandpiper, and that it was probably a pectoral, because my 

 description said that the white patch on the rump was divided 

 by a dark stripe. 



The last shore bird episode for the present season did not find 

 its setting at Wolfe's Pond, but on the wild, outside beach of 

 Crooke's Point, several miles up the shore. Mr. William T. Davis, 

 Mr. Alanson Skinner, and I had spent a pleasant day on the point. 

 During the return trip along the beach, in the late afternoon, two 

 sanderlings, or surf snipe, were seen feeding along the sandy 

 stretch ahead of us. We at first thought that the birds were of 

 a wild nature, but as we approached they did not fly, and finally 

 we were observing them from a distance of only a few feet. 

 Their tameness was almost unbelievable. The lens of the camera 

 was split up so as to give one magnification, and in one or two 

 instances it was necessary to back away from the birds to bring 

 them into the field of focus. They were photographed until the 

 plate supply was exhausted, and then my only regret was that I 

 did not have more plates. 



