144 BIRD LIFE THROUGHOUT THE YEAR 



shriek their anxious fears as to the security of hidden 

 young or dart up with shrill vituperation at a passing 

 gull. Graceful in shape and spotless in plumage is 

 the Little Tern which shares the same haunt, laying 

 its eggs upon the foreshore, so little above the highest 

 tide-mark as to leave but a narrow margin of safety. 

 We have known all three, plover, oyster-catcher and 

 tern, to have nests within a couple of yards of each 

 other. The handsome Sheld-ducks leave the sand- 

 bars and oozy channels in which they love to paddle, 

 to lay their eggs in deserted rabbit-burrows in the 

 midst of the warren. Their beautifully contrasted 

 plumage of white, chestnut and green renders them an 

 ornament to the parts of the coast where they, are 

 found. 



Not less strange is the choice of the Stock Dove, 

 which will often nest in a similar burrow at a depth 

 of two or three feet, having as neighbour the Wheatear, 

 which flicks its white tail and " chacks" noisily in every 

 little hollow of the dunes. The plants of the sand- 

 waste — sea-holly, houndstongue, sea bind-weed — are 

 not less characteristic than its birds ; even its insects 

 and land-shells will be found to be peculiar to itself. 



In spite of the wealth of beauty which it brings, 

 July marks one of the turning points of the year, for 

 towards the end of the month one has a feeling that 

 summer, if not exactly upon the wane, has at least 

 passed its meridian. Daylight lingers less long and 



