170 BRITISH BIRDS. 
I went to see the breeding-place of the Spoonbills and Cormorants. A 
winding river passes through lakes and marshes down to Yarmouth ; and 
in the deep channel boats heavily laden sail up and down, whilst on the 
shallow broads and in the narrow lanes cut through the marshes we were 
punted along in little boats with ease. When we were near enough to the 
sea, the “ denes ” or sandhills that skirt the coast formed a conspicuous 
object on the horizon. 
The marshes (or “meshes” as the marshmen call them) are covered 
over with reeds, with a thick undergrowth of Juncus and Carex. Most 
of the marsh is accessible with wading-boots; and in many places we 
found shooting-boots sufficient. The reeds are regularly cropped, and 
sold for thatching and as a substitute for straw for cattle. Here and 
there willows are found, sometimes in sufficient quantity to make it worth 
while to employ women and children in peeling twigs for basket-making. 
Fishing is carried on in some of the broads; and in winter these sheets of 
water are a great resort for Wild Ducks and other water-birds. Great 
numbers of half-tame Swans breed on most of the marshes. 
In the evening Joshua, the old fenman whom Mr. Evans had chartered 
as guide, took us to Hickling Marsh, about a square mile in extent. As 
we walked along the lanes between the high hedges, Corn-Buntings and 
Sedge-Warblers were the principal songsters. The part of the marsh 
which we visited had lately been in the hands of a farmer who had sue- 
cumbed to the bad harvests; and the reeds were cut and lying in heaps on 
the ground. For one of these heaps or reed-cocks Joshua steered by a 
somewhat circuitous route to avoid the dykes, which were generally just 
too wide to jump across with safety. Peewits and Redshanks got up as we 
went along ; but we kept steadily to our goal. At length, after a three- 
mile walk, during which the daylight had perceptibly diminished, Joshua 
pointed out a heap of cut reeds as “ the place.” We advanced cautiously 
to about half a dozen yards from the heap, when rapidly but silently rose 
before our admiring eyes a Short-eared Owl, displaying her nest with six 
eggs conspicuously placed at the foot of the “ reed-cock ” and half sheltered 
by it. The bird looked very large as she rose in the evening light and, 
after a short flight, turned back and wheeled in circles round us. In half 
a minute she was joined by her mate ; and the two flew round as long as 
we remained near the nest. Sometimes she hovered at a considerable 
height perpendicularly over her nest, as if she would assure herself that 
we had not taken her eggs, and as if she could only see them when she 
was directly above them. When she had apparently adjusted the focus of 
her great eyes upon them, she fluttered her wings in a very agitated manner 
for a few seconds. Whether this peculiar movement was the result of her 
great anxiety to return to cover them from the chill evening air, or an 
active expression of her delight at seeing them still in the nest, or an 
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