The Western Sandpiper 



Taken in Washington 



THE DAY IS FOR REST 



front. All is as merry as wedding bells, and the birdman with his camera 

 is trembling with excitement. But suddenly one of the little soldiers is 

 smitten with a fear-thought. Like an electric flash it is communicated to 

 all his comrades. Instantly, in the dreadful hush which follows, the flock 

 takes wing as one bird, and they pass out of hearing, arguing excitedly. 

 Ten to one, after they have swept the horizon two or three times, the 

 panicky member is outvoted, and the Peeps troop back confidingly to 

 resume the pastures which they have just deserted. 



At high tide the little fellows retire to the edges of the flats, where 

 they either prepare elaborate toilets or else engage in one-legged slumbers. 

 If the tide is too insistent, they do not mind standing in an inch or so of 

 water. But it is delight- 

 fully absurd to see them 

 economizing strength by 

 the use of only one leg. 

 Perhaps they want to 

 keep one foot dry, for I 

 have seen them hop 

 about in a lazy tide pool, 

 clearing the surface of 

 the water at every jump, 

 but never disclosing the 

 missing member in the 

 process. Or perhaps one 

 of them had started a 

 boyish dare, with a baby 

 limpet as a prize to the 

 one that held out long- 



Taken in Santa Barbara 



FLUTTERING PEEPS 



1249 



