114 AN EAST COAST NATURALIST 



birds. It was a very warm, still evening. Lying 

 hidden in the tall grass that covered the walls, I 

 watched them with interest for some time through my 

 glasses, and with a little patience made an estimate 

 of their number. There were as follow : 



24 Herons, over 

 200 Curlews ; and nearly 

 2000 Gulls (mostly asleep). 



8 Common Sandpipers, 

 i Green Sandpiper, and 

 i Greenshank. 



After a spell of wind in October 1900, a number 

 of gulls trooped in to Breydon for a much-needed 

 rest. When sailing by the flats I passed several 

 hundreds, mostly Greater Saddlebacks and Herring 

 Gulls. 



Who shall not say the unexpected sight of a 

 flock of Spoonbills, from six even up to a dozen, 

 flying by in single file, or feeding in regular order, 

 is anything but a pleasurable one ? 



On 14th January 1899 I took a ramble in the 

 same vicinity. Observing an unusually light- 

 coloured gull preening its feathers, and apparently 

 listlessly pottering about on the mud, close under 

 the stone wall, I crept along until within distance 

 of it, and cautiously looked over. It goes without 

 saying that the sight of an Iceland Gull making 

 itself quite at home on the mud flats was as pleasant 



