INTRODUCTION. 



Many counties have had the history of their bird-life 

 written, but Kent is not among them, and when we 

 consider the county of Kent, its size, long coast line, 

 woodlands, valleys and waterways, and nearness to 

 the Continent of Europe, it is surprising that no such 

 history has yet appeared. Kent is essentially a maritime 

 county, its northern boundary the Eiver Thames and 

 the North Sea, east the North Sea and the Straits of 

 Dover, and on the south it is bordered by the English 

 Channel. Some 140 miles of its circumference is thus 

 lapped by tidal waters. In bygone years, shore-birds and 

 water-fowl of every description, no doubt, frequented this 

 long coast line in great numbers, but it is not so now. 

 From Greenwich to Gravesend the river banks are lighted 

 by gas lamps, and from Heme Bay to Hythe, with the 

 exception of the Sandwich Flats, the coast is given up to 

 the tripper and the jerry builder, and gunners prowl 

 daily along it shooting or scaring away every bird that 

 approaches ; still there are a few quiet places left where 

 some of the old frequenters may yet be met with, 

 especially in the estuary of the Thames, Medway, Sand- 

 wich Flats, and Eomney Marsh. To understand the 

 natural features of the county a slight description of its 

 geological formation is necessary. The great feature of 

 the county is the chalk; it extends from the Surrey 

 border to the Dover cliffs, and covers nearly the whole of 



