172 OUTDOOR LIFE IN ENGLAND 



full leaf. It may be damp and cold, but it is all 

 very beautiful as long as it lasts, and what with 

 the starlings, tits, wrens, and other birds which are 

 constantly dropping into the reeds, there is no lack 

 of life and interest for those who care to observe. 

 The one thing needful is to remain perfectly quiet, 

 regardless of chilled fingers and numbing feet. 

 Watching and waiting may be repaid, but a rest- 

 less hanging about mars all hopes of sport. Just 

 when the light is fading, and further waiting 

 seems hopeless, a faint quacking, speedily 

 followed by a rush of wings, betokens the arrival 

 of a flight of ducks, which come into view, check- 

 ing their flight as they prepare to settle down in 

 the stream. Quickly as the gun has been brought 

 up to the shoulder, they have seen it, and hurry 

 off ; two reports, followed by a swishing sound as 

 one bird falls lifeless in the reeds, a splash as a 

 second strikes the water, and but three out of 

 the five are left to wing their way down the 

 valley to other feeding-grounds. A few minutes 

 later and the small birds, which were startled out 

 of their wits, are again settling down for the 

 night. 



I previously made reference to the spotted 

 flycatcher, one of the most common of our 

 migratory birds. Arriving here in the spring, it 

 stays with us until the first frosts of autumn warn 

 it that it is time to take its departure to sunnier 

 lands than ours. It is a cheery little bird, and by 

 no means shy, frequently building its nest in the 



