SA^D DUNES AND SALT MARSHES 



common in the fall when herrings swarm in 

 Ipswich Bay. I have counted over two hun- 

 dred gannets, all busily engaged in fishing, 

 which with them is a lively and not a con- 

 templative occupation. When a large flock 

 are throwing themselves from considerable 

 heights at the water, one bird after another 

 in quick succession, or a number at once, send- 

 ing the water up in great spouts, one is re- 

 minded of a naval battle, or at least of its 

 counterfeit presentments. The fishing proc- 

 ess in detail is as follows: the gannet flies 

 rapidly over the water and begins to soar at 

 a height of from thirty to a hundred feet, often 

 rising just before the plunge. At the plunge 

 the head is pointed down, while the wings are 

 partly s|)read, so that the bird appears like a 

 great winged arrow. The speed of the descent 

 is great, and the wings are closed just before 

 the bird enters the water, which spurts up to 

 a height of five feet or more. After the waters 

 have subsided, following the splash, and all is 

 still, the bird suddenly and buoyantly comes 

 to the surface, the head and neck stretched out 

 first. It then sits quietly on the water for half 

 a minute or so, to finish swallowing its prey 

 and to rest, when it slowly and laboriously 



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