140 Union Bay 



He had described the bird well. When I approached, it 

 was whirling vigorously in a circle less than a yard in diam- 

 eter and pecking at the rate of two or three times per revolu- 

 tion at bits of food that the disturbed water had brought to 

 the surface. I remember my first impression: I thought this 

 spinning creature had a trim fineness combined with sturdi- 

 ness of the kind one sees in a distance runner. It had the 

 general appearance of a tern but it was a small bird, smaller 

 than a killdeer. Its bill was needle-sharp and about as long 

 as its head, which moved back and forth, sometimes very 

 rapidly, as the bird swam. Its general color was whitish but 

 a grayish-dusky bar showed distinctly behind the eye. It did 

 not call constantly in the manner of some of the shorebirds, 

 but appeared much less boisterous and noisy. I placed it as 

 a bird of quiet habits and one that would not venture over 

 long distances, a surmise that subsequent information proved 

 entirely wrong. 



I stopped when a few yards away and watched the bird 

 as it continued feeding. The long-billed dowitchers had al- 

 lowed me to approach closely just as this bird did but their 

 attitude was entirely different— a mixture of friendliness com- 

 bined with wariness. They reminded me of robins as they 

 reached for worms when I spaded in the garden. They did 

 not object to my nearness, but merely kept a wary eye upon 

 me to be sure that I was up to no tricks. But this bird simply 

 ignored me. It did not look my way or change its course, 

 and when it headed directly toward the canoe it made no 

 effort to veer right or left but uttered an irritated protest at 

 the obstruction. Even then it did not fly but continued peck- 

 ing at food so close to the gunwale that I could have touched 

 it without changing my position. Occasionally it flew a few 

 feet, and, after stirring up the water with a couple of swings, 

 fed again. Why it circled I did not know, for the surface was 

 covered with small insects which seemed to make the dis- 

 turbance of the water unnecessary. Back and forth it went. 



