24 THE BOOK OF MIGRATORY BIRDS 



hotel I strolled beyond the Castle, and at once saw one of 

 the objects of my journey, for half a dozen eider-ducks 

 were observed a short distance out washing and diving, 

 the white and black of the old males contrasting strongly 

 with the sooty brown of the females. 



Once an eider-duck brought up something like a crab, 

 which she began to shake vigorously. A herring-gull, 

 hovering about, immediately swooped down, and tried to 

 wrest the morsel from the duck, which dived, and the 

 disappointed gull moved off. 



My chief interest lay in the brent geese, and I was 

 pleasantly surprised during my first walk to meet two lads, 

 one of whom carried a winged bird of this species. It 

 seemed little injured, but gaggled mournfully. 



I was surprised at the small delicate head and tapering 

 neck, so different from the clumsy grey goose. The bird 

 was much smaller and more lightly built than I had 

 anticipated, not bigger than a shell drake. 



I enjoyed many opportunities of seeing the brent, as 

 they always come to feed on the stakes, in daytime if 

 possible, returning to their sea-quarters. 



It was exciting to go out in early morning at half-flood 

 tide, and to observe the lines of geese, becoming more 

 distinct, till their gaggling became audible. As they 

 passed boats or rocks, where gunners might be hidden, 

 they rose high in air, out of shot, even on windy days, 

 though on two occasions I saw individuals fall to well- 

 directed shots. 



But no amount of shooting will keep these members of 

 the feathered tribe out of the mud-flats, for food they must 

 have, and in winter it is almost exclusively the sea grass, 

 or " Zostera Marina," the colour of which gives large 

 portions of the stakes their green appearance. 



These birds spend the night at sea, tossing on the waves, 

 where they are safe from punts, armed with swivel guns. 

 One morning as I scanned the sea from the vantage 

 ground of the Castle rock, I saw through my glass a series 

 of black dots, out some distance. I found these dots 



