358 WILD LIFE IN A SOUTHERN COUNTY. 



appear to move very slowly, the eye being . deceived 

 by the slow stroke of the wings, they really go at a 

 good pace. They do not seem to have any regular 

 hours of visiting the lake though more seem to arrive 

 in the afternoon but they have distinct lines of flight 

 along which they may be expected to come. In winter, 

 however, they show more regularity, going down from 

 the lake to the water-meadows in the evening, and 

 returning in the early morning that is, supposing the 

 lake to be open and free from ice. If the shores are 

 frozen a heron or two may be found in the water- 

 meadows all day. 



In the autumn, after a dry summer, is the best 

 time to watch them. The water is then low ; numer- 

 ous small islands appear, and long narrow sandbanks 

 run out fifty or sixty yards, with shoals on either side. 

 After a very dry season the level of the water is so 

 much reduced that in the broadest (and shallowest) 

 part the actual strand where the water begins is a 

 hundred yards or more from the nearest hedge. This 

 is just what the heron likes, because no one can 

 approach him over that flat expanse of dried- mud 

 without being immediately detected. I have seen 

 as many as eight herons standing together in a row 

 on one such narrow sandbank in the daytime, in 

 regular order like soldiers : there were six more on 

 adjacent islands. They were not feeding simply 

 standing motionless. As soon as it grew dark they 

 dispersed, and ventured then down the lake to those 

 places near which footpaths passed. 



