IQO STRA Y FEA THERS FROM MANY BIRDS. 



Plover, or the warbling call notes of migrating Sky 

 Larks greet the ear ; and the Heron on his stilt-like legs 

 stalks slowly through the shallows and the weedy back- 

 waters, where Grebes and Kingfishers congregate to prey 

 upon the small crustaceans and fish. 



Of course such vast numbers of birds do not escape the 

 attentions of the wild-fowler, but owing to this district 

 being such an exposed one, the gunner has little chance 

 of stalking his quarry, and the punter small facilities 

 for successfully working his craft within range of the 

 feathered hosts. But man's ingenuity has made up for 

 these drawbacks, and great quantities of birds are 

 captured here every autumn and winter not by decoys, 

 guns, or traps, but by nets. Bird-netting in this district 

 is an industry, followed by many of the fishermen and 

 coastguards, who eke out their precarious and scanty 

 earnings by snaring birds. Miles of nets are spread on 

 the mud banks in October, when the migrating wading 

 birds, and Ducks and Geese are flying along the coast 

 in great numbers. In looking at these nets the in- 

 experienced observer would be sure to express surprise 

 at the singular way in which they are set, and the 

 enormous size of the meshes. These meshes are seven 

 inches square, and the nets themselves are between five 

 and six feet in height. These mere sheets of netting, 

 without pocket of any kind are stretched taut on thin 

 cords run at the top and bottom between stout poles 



