178 FIELD NOTES FOR THE YEAR. 



ever, I show any portion of my figure above the bank, their 

 quick eye detects me, and after gazing for half a minute 

 with erect neck, they fly off; at first flapping the surface of 

 the water, or almost running along it ; and then gradually 

 rising, wend their way to a few pools higher up the river, 

 where alighting they re-commence their fishing. 



The golden-eye duck and the morillon also are frequently 

 seen diving for shell-fish and weed in the deep quiet pools, 

 but never fishing in the shallow parts of the river like the 

 goosander. 



The peewits do not leave us till quite the end of October, 

 and during most of the month are in immense numbers on 

 the sands near the mouth of the river. In the dusk of the 

 evening they as well as the golden plover leave the sands, 

 and take to the fields in search of worms and snails, gener- 

 ally frequenting the ploughed land or the grass-fields. As I 

 pass along the shore of the bay, large flocks of widgeon fly to 

 and fro as the ebb-tide leaves uncovered the small grassy 

 island and banks. Unlike the mallard and teal, both which 

 are night-feeding birds, the widgeon feeds at any hour of the 

 day or night indiscriminately, not waiting for the dusk to 

 commence their search for food, but grazing like geese on the 

 grass whenever they can get at it. Although towards the 

 end of winter the shyest of all waterfowl, the widgeon, at 

 this season, owing to their not having been persecuted and 

 fired at, may be easily approached, and with a little care may 

 be closely watched as they swim to and fro from bank to 

 bank; sometimes landing, and at other times cropping the 

 grass as they swim along the edge. If a pair of mallards is 

 amongst the flock, the drake's green head is soon seen to rise 

 up above the rest, as his watchfulness is seldom long deceived; 

 with low quacking he warns his mate, and the two then rise, 

 giving an alarm to the widgeon. The latter, after one or 

 two rapid wheels in the air, return to their feeding-ground, 

 but the mallards fly off to a considerable distance before they 

 stop. 'Tis as well to make the widgeon pay tribute, so creep- 

 ing to the nearest part of the bank I wait till a flock has ap- 

 proached within shot and in close rank, and giving them both 

 barrels, four or five drop. If any are winged, my dog has a 

 tolerably hard chase; for no bird dives more quickly than 

 the widgeon : and they invariably make directly for the 

 deep water, taking long dives, and only showing the top of 

 their head when they are obliged to come up to breathe. 



