. Wild wings; adventures of a camera-hunter among the larger wild birds of North America on sea and land . ers would be compar-able to those of Noahs ark. Really I had almost expected VIRGINIA BIRD HOMES 119 to gaze upon fluttering multitudes out of my bedroomwindow. But I was soon undeceived, and I found myselfnext morning trudging up the beach northward, weighteddown with a backload of impedimenta, under the ardor ofthe late June sunshine. For a mile the way was past thepine-tract, which contained many great Ospreys nests, con-spicuous as hay-mows in the tree-tops. Then came the sandybeach,
. Wild wings; adventures of a camera-hunter among the larger wild birds of North America on sea and land . ers would be compar-able to those of Noahs ark. Really I had almost expected VIRGINIA BIRD HOMES 119 to gaze upon fluttering multitudes out of my bedroomwindow. But I was soon undeceived, and I found myselfnext morning trudging up the beach northward, weighteddown with a backload of impedimenta, under the ardor ofthe late June sunshine. For a mile the way was past thepine-tract, which contained many great Ospreys nests, con-spicuous as hay-mows in the tree-tops. Then came the sandybeach, unrelieved by any background save that of the low,interminable salt marsh. A tramp of miles upon the sandmay be wearisome and monotonous, or not, according tocircumstances. When breezes blow free and the waves areflowing, when shore-birds pipe their clear, mellow calls, whensea-birds flit gracefully by and plunge into the brine, oneforgets his burdens and feels as free as they. Expecting such conditions, I plodded along, and was re-warded. After about three miles I began to hear the sounds ■-im. ■. 4^# NEST AND EGGS OF THE BLACK SKIMMER I20 WILD WINGS of bird-flutes, and pairs of demure little Wilsons Ploversran pattering before me along the shingle. Some louder,more incisive cries came from a couple of Oyster-catchers,large and wary shore-birds that probably had young in thevicinity. A mile or two farther along I began to approach aflock of good-sized birds whose sooty black plumage showedup with startling contrast against the dazzling glare of thesand upon which they were resting. Presently they took towing and came dashing toward me like a pack of hounds infull cry. Darting past, they revealed their white under partsand great carmine bills, the lower mandible projecting be-vond the upper one. This most singular bird is the BlackSkimmer. \\ere there nothing else picturesque in the land-scape, these would suffice and would furnish inducementenough for the trip down into ol
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