 The silhouetted images of the birds flying over water is similar to the Japanese screen by Maruyama Ōkyo "Geese Flying over a Beach".One of Benson's early interests was depiction of the bird life near Salem; His first oil paintings are still lifes of birds.Benson may have seen that screen at Boston importer Bunkyo Matsuki's shop or the Matsuki home in Salem before it was purchased by Charles Freer in 1898.