170 SHOOTING THE GOOSE 



somewhat impeded by its sticky nature ; but if the 

 sun is warm they often delight in ' breasting ' the mud 

 and preening their feathers whilst they rest. The 

 moment that the sentinels pass the word around that 

 danger is imminent every neck is at once erect, and 

 the contented grunt of satisfaction, which is the only 

 sound emitted when happy and contented, at once 

 gives place to a rolling murmur of voices, increasing 

 quickly in volume, until they rise up in alarm with 

 a deafening roar of wings and fly off to some other 

 feeding place. 



The disinclination which brent show to leave the 

 tidal flats, or even to fly over any land if it can 

 be avoided, somewhat prejudices the shore gunner's 

 chance of sport with these birds. Under favourable 

 conditions of wind and weather flighters do occa- 

 sionally obtain a few shots at brent from tubs sunk 

 in the mud near their feeding haunts, or, perhaps, 

 from some natural shelter which happens to lie con- 

 veniently in the track of the geese as they pass from 

 one point to another. In one place, I remember, 

 where I used to shoot, there were three small islands 

 in a line, about a hundred and fifty yards apart, which 

 divided their resting and feeding resorts. Under 

 the combined influences of a high spring tide and a 

 strong easterly wind the sea often became so rough 



