The Birds and Poets 87 



I observed a female spotted sandpiper just ahead 

 tipping and teetering up and down in vigorous 

 fashion in the shallow water. After watching her 

 a few moments, I approached quietly, but she 

 refused to fly, and instead uttered two or three 

 sharp alarm notes — "peet-weet! peet-weet!" — 

 whereupon I naturally surmised that either her 

 nest or a family of young birds was near. 



Presently I discovered running about over the 

 rocks, three young birds so small that I had over- 

 looked them; then their mother, uttering two or 

 three more alarm notes, led them hastily up the 

 rather steep bank into the grass. The young birds 

 were scarcely larger than the eggs which lately 

 held them, and were covered with thin gray down. 

 They almost constantly bobbed and teetered even 

 more vehemently than their mother, almost pitch- 

 ing themselves over. They must begin their tail 

 tipping by teetering themselves out of the eggs. 

 They certainly know all about it the moment they 

 are born. 



At this time the father sandpiper having doubt- 

 less heard the mother bird's alarm notes from afar 

 came sailing down the creek, with a companion 

 bird which alighted on the opposite side of the 

 stream, while the head of the little family dropped 

 down at about the point where its members had 

 lately disappeared into the grass. Pausing a 

 moment, to look at me, he seemed to grasp the 

 situation, and uttering an alarmed "peet-weet," ran 

 up into the grass and joined his anxious loved ones. 



