206 BIRDS OF NOBFOLK. 



1887. May 5. I saw five pochards, six mallards, and ten tufted, 

 all drakes. After walking round the pool, and thus dis- 

 turbing the fowl, I saw one mallard, and most of the 

 others in pairs, showing that at my first view the ducks 

 were at their nests. 



May 24. 1 identified two female pochards nesting One 

 nest was of dead Carex, the other of dead Scirpus, and 

 placed in a clump of the same plant. Each nest con- 

 tained eight eggs, varying in one nest from greenish 

 brown to brown ; the other eight eggs were all brown. 



May 26. I had a good view of a female pochard as she flew 

 from her nest of seven hard-sat-on eggs in a tussock of 

 Carex. When I put them into the pool, these eggs pro- 

 gressed through the water with a regular and consid- 

 erable oscillation ; in fact, they not only floated with the 

 big end above the water, but they swam well. About a 

 foot from this nest I picked up two pochard's eggs from 

 the bottom of the water, so that the clutch probably con- 

 sisted of nine eggs. Near this nest I found another of 

 six fresh eggs ; but could not identify the female until 

 the 30th, when I proved it to be a pochard. 1 also 

 found, and clearly identified, three more female pochards 

 as they left their nests of seven, seven, and six eggs, and 

 saw a tufted duck's nest of eight eggs. These five 



Eochard's and the tufted ducks' nests were all within a 

 jw yards of one another. I also found another little 

 grebe's nest of four eggs in the same pool this day. 



May 30. In the same pool I identified, as she flew from 

 her nest of seven eggs, much sat-on, another pochard (as 

 well as the one I failed to recognise on the 26th inst.) 

 Also two more tufted ducks' nests of eight and seven 

 eggs, all near together. 



June 3. I found a nest of five sat-on eggs of pochard in 

 Carex, and identified the female as she flew away a thick, 

 heavy bird, with grey, brown-mottled body, and dull 

 rusty-brown head and neck. 



The above extracts, although confined to one district, 

 are not restricted to one "pool/' and do not include 

 Lord Walsingham's waters before referred to. It will be 

 seen, therefore, that this species nests very freely in the 

 part of the county referred to, where, I am happy to say, 

 all the fowl are well protected. 



The interesting particulars in Mr. Norgate's most 

 careful and valuable notes, afford remarkable encourage- 

 ment to those who have advocated recent legislation on 

 behalf of our wild fowl for it is needless to say that 

 nothing of the kind was the case twenty years ago and 

 render it unnecessary to add any remarks upon either 



