226 SHOOTING THE DUCK AND THE GOOSE 



teal are extremely plentiful. It was here that in the 

 autumn of 1897 Captain Gould says he killed 951 

 teal in twenty-three days' shooting. 



Grey geese are likewise very abundant inland in 

 Groningen and Friesland, but their visits to the coast 

 are most irregular. Sometimes they will come out 

 to the tide just before sunset, and if they are much 

 disturbed at their feeding-grounds they may appear 

 at any time of the day. The Dollart is another 

 favourite haunt of grey geese; but, as they chiefly 

 remain on the Quelders, which is a partially reclaimed 

 foreshore, they do not give the coast gunner much 

 chance of shooting them. Brent geese, on the other 

 hand, congregate in big gaggles on the coast where- 

 ever the broad-bladed Zostera marina grows. Again, 

 around the Island of Wieringen, and on the banks to 

 the north-east of the Griend, which is an island lying 

 between Harlingen and Terschelling, they are most 

 numerous; but in these exposed situations brent are 

 always difficult of access. It is worthy of note that 

 all the brent geese which Captain Gould shot in these 

 places were of the dark-breasted variety. Most of 

 the geese on the east coast of England are of this 

 kind; but it is no uncommon event to bag speci- 

 mens of both the white and dark bellied variety at 

 the same shot. On the Moray and Cromarty Firths 



