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It reminded him of the old days, at the beginning of the war. He was not married then, and he had made all the blackout boards for his mother’s house in Plymouth. Made the shelter too. Not that it had been of any use when the moment came.

This quote comes on the morning of the second day, as Nat boards his cottage for defense against the birds. Despite his handiwork for his mother, the last line of this quote hints she was one of the lives lost in Plymouth during the raids in World War II. This quote reveals that Nat, despite being a good and patriotic soldier, may wonder whether the war was worth it after all. He may wonder whether these boards will be any more useful against the birds than his mother’s blackout boards were against the Germans. The quote suggests that even “good wars” like World War II are waged in folly.

A lull in battle. Forces regrouping. Wasn’t that what they called it in the old wartime bulletins? Maybe the lull in battle was because of the tide. There was some law the birds obeyed, and it was all to do with the east wind and the tide.

This quote occurs on the afternoon of the second day, just after the military’s planes have been thwarted by the birds. Nat struggles to understand the birds’ ultimate aim. As a veteran soldier, he uses the vocabulary of war to describe the birds’ unnatural behavior because it seems the best way to make sense out of it. But ultimately, the bird attacks have no explanation, indicating that all war is senseless. Perhaps the birds are being directed by some unknown force, and perhaps that force has its reasons. In the end, though, the reasons don’t matter. The result will be death and destruction.

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