812 Union Bay 



nessed the recovery of waders or divers which had been in 

 distress. They suffered from the shock of handling and they 

 would not eat. I knew of many people who had picked up 

 oil-covered birds which were otherwise uninjured. They had 

 done everything to bring them back to normal but few suc- 

 ceeded. 



I returned to the marsh to look again at the unusual ap- 

 pearance of the snow- and ice-covered area. Ducks, coots, 

 and gulls were dropping on the ice at the edge of the bay 

 and I watched the ludicrous manner in which they landed. 

 The coots seemed to have no control, the ducks little more. 

 Only the gulls succeeded in making a reasonably dignified 

 stop. My mind still clung to the bittern. Why shouldn't a 

 bird alter its habits temporarily if necessity required it? 



What was the reason for this restricted type of diet? One 

 thing appeared certain: each animal with fixed food prefer- 

 ences must live where those preferences can be satisfied. An 

 overwhelming urge to use only certain kinds of food would 

 hold a bittern to places where such food could be secured. 

 The great natural scheme of things emphasized stability. The 

 inflexible desire for a definite diet might be the only method 

 of preventing the building up of a gradual taste for grains 

 and such products which would make the animal able to live 

 in many other kinds of places and compete with other spe- 

 cies of birds. In other words, our bittern must remain a spe- 

 cialist, regardless of consequences, in order that it and its 

 kind might continue to be marsh dwellers and nothing else. 

 I wondered if this theory might be the correct one. 



The sun shone brightly, the sharpness of the air pleased 

 me, and I continued my walk. I passed a spot where a little 

 hill rose from the marsh. Out of the hill flowed a tiny stream, 

 perhaps a couple of feet in width and three inches in depth. 

 It apparently came from the University powerhouse, for it 

 was warm enough to prevent ice from forming and to push 

 the snow back from its margins. It crossed four or five rods 



