Pigskins and Dowitchers 245 



The game went on, the cheering continued, the bands 

 played, the planes circled continually, the sun appeared and 

 reappeared from under thin clouds while three birds from 

 northern Alaska fed within two blocks of the stadium. Now 

 that the canoe was still and they were accustomed to my 

 presence, they showed no concern at the click of the camera, 

 the winding of the spring, or my movements. I was curious 

 to know whether they had been near to man or other preda- 

 tors. Such unconcern appeared unnatural even in these, the 

 friendliest of shorebirds. Food was not much of a problem 

 for them. The depth at which they fed removed all compe- 

 tition: most of the shorebirds which visited the marsh lacked 

 length of bill, and only the Wilson snipe could reach the 

 layers where the dowitchers probed. In how many marshes 

 had they fed between here and the Alaska area where their 

 kind courted, mated, and nested? In how many marshes 

 would they feed between here and their winter range which 

 reached from our southern states into Central America and 

 as far south as Ecuador? 



I learned from the public address system and the cheering 

 that our team was not doing well. The rooters frantically im- 

 plored the players to "hold that line," a request which was 

 ignored, for just before the end of the first half the visitors 

 scored. This was a decided upset, as the odds were much 

 against them, and the sports writers had predicted a victory 

 for the home team. The half ended with the score, 7-0. I 

 could not see the field but I knew the routine that followed 

 at half time: the striking card displays, the drill of the col- 

 lege band, and a few comic stunts. The crowd roared its ap- 

 proval and the period passed quickly. 



My guests evinced no interest and fed steadily, stopping 

 only once when some low-flying gulls passed. They might 

 have thought them hawks, for they cried excitedly before re- 

 suming their probing. After awhile they seemed less hungry, 

 their industry dwindled, and then they abruptly prepared to 



