U 5 ' 
     
    
   
   
    
     transported elsewhere, leaving behind a breach in the dune chain 
     
     which may be washed over by spring tides. 
     
    
   
   
    
     As naturalists, we should not be alarmed by a breach in a dune 
     
     system. If we look up and down the coast we will find barrier 
     
     beach and dune systems at all stages of development, maturity and 
     
     decline. A dune system along an outer beach cannot be preserved 
     
     "intact" for posterity, for that would be to ignore the dynamics 
     
     of the situation. Cyclic instability is an inherent component 
     
     in the character of a coastal dune system. If we remove this 
     
     element the system becomes stabilized, changed into something else; 
     
     and we no longer have the dynamic dune system characteristic of 
     
     the outer beach. To preserve such a system we must recognize and 
     
     accept the "right" of the dunes on the outer beach to be breached, 
     
     washed over, levelled and rebuilt as directed by the interplay of 
     
     sand, wind and sea. 
     
    
   
   
    
     As ecologists we should be quick to note that a beach system 
     
     of alternating dunes and washovers provides a more diverse habitat 
     
     than a monoculture of marram on an uninterrupted dune chain. The 
     
     habitat provided by washovers and adjacent sparsely vegetated dune 
     
     slopes forms the preferred breeding ground of the Piping Plover. 
     
     This species is currently declining throughout its range and at 
     
     present numbers only about 300 to 350 pairs in eastern Canada, 50 
     
     to 60 of which nest on P.E.I. In 1978 ten of these pairs nested 
     
     on Cavendish sandspit, an area which contains 12 washovers. 
     
    
   
   
    
     And so the point I wish to make is that dune systems should 
     
     be permitted to operate according to their own dynamics, without 
     
     the help or hindrance of human interference. If a dune does 
     
     become breached, either through human or more natural causes, 
     
     the sensible thing to do is to leave it alone. Past experiences 
     
     have shown that efforts at dune restoration generally have little 
     
     or no effect anyway. However, in adopting such a hands-off 
     
     policy, it will be as important to effectively control human 
     
     activities that might accelerate dune decline as to resist the 
     
     temptation to plug the gaps and "save" the dunes. Although 
     
     some of our efforts in management and mis-management of the 
     
     barrier beach/dune complex may have improved habitat in certain 
     
     ways, we know so little about this type of coastal engineering 
     
     that at present we are best advised to leave the job to nature. 
     
    
   
   
    
     Winnie Cairns 
     
     60 Newland Crescent 
     
     Charlottetown, P.E.I. 
     
    
   
   
    
       
     
    
   
   
    
     The Story of Killey 
     
    
   
   
    
     The Sparrow Hawk (now known in scientific circles as Kestrel), a bird slightly 
     
     larger than a robin, is the smallest of the four falcons which occur in Nova Scotia 
     
     and Prince Edward Island. They are noted and loved by many for their grace and 
     
     prowess, and are said to be the fastest fliers in the avian world. 
     
    
   
   
    
     Late in the afternoon of July 10 1975 I was presented with a young Sparrow 
     
     Hawk. It had been found squatting on the floor of a barn in the Berwick area 
     
     about noon of the day before. The pattern of its plumage indicated it was a 
     
     female and although it was almost fully feathered, it was sporting a very brief 
     
     bob-tail and its head showed considerable natal down protruding. Her benefactor 
     
     mentioned that he had been unable to induce her to eat and marvelled that she 
     
     was still alive after a fast of approximately 30 hours. He seemed quite 
     
     relieved when I said I would do what I could for the little waif. 
     
    
   
   
    
     The food of Sparrow Hawks is varied, ranging from mice, small birds, small 
     
     snakes to large insects such as grasshoppers and crickets. The bird was not 
     
     near death from starvation as she ferociously struck at me with her talons when 
     
     given the opportunity. I placed her in my so-called "bird hospital" - a large 
     
     airy wired enclosure in the cellar of my house and with little delay presented 
     
     her with the still warm remains of an English Sparrow the feathers of which 
     
     I had partially plucked in order to make the offering more palatable. But 
     
     ravenous as she must have been, the food was spurned and was still untouched 
     
     when I left her for the night. This was not wholly surprising, for the bird 
     
    
   
   
    
     was 5 ill in a state of what might be called 'fear paralysis'. when I visited 
     
     he early tne following morning it was most gratifying to find that all that 
     
     was left of the sparrow was its beak, legs and some flight feathers.