32 SEAFOWL SHOOTING SKETCHES. 



couple of purres on the way. The total was 23 birds, of which 

 20 were brought home, thus only losing- three, thanks to the boat. 



The next time I was out I took my own boat, and was accom- 

 panied by my brother Edwin and my friend Moorcroft. Waiting- for 

 the latter, it was half-past six before we pushed off. We did not get 

 very far down before we grounded, and my friend, armed with a 

 seven-bore muzzle-loader, elected to take a walk on the south bank, 

 but I stuck to the boat. W'hilst he was hiding behind a " stoop " 

 I managed to drop a couple of birds right and left, at which I was 

 rather elated, as they were a good distance off. I had several 

 shots at purres, getting in all half a dozen. I also picked up a 

 common sandpiper. My friend got five birds. 



About half-past ten the flood came, and as I was suffering 

 severely from neuralgia, we decided to turn back in preference to 

 staying until the next tide. Accordingly, we hoisted the sail, and 

 soon got home. As we were less than five hours on the water, 

 and at the worst part of it, I do not think our bag of 14 birds a 

 bad one. But for my indisposition, we should doubtless have had 

 a good day of it. 



Not having a kingfisher in my collection, I determined to try 

 for the one I had missed, or any other that I might come across. 

 I therefore made several journeys specially for that purpose, and 

 at last got a long shot at one. It appeared touched, and I marked 

 it down. Coming to the place it got up, and just as I pulled 

 trigger darted behind some mud and disappeared. I searched for 

 a long time, and was giving it up, when I saw it under a turf in 

 a small drain. Creeping up, I dashed my hat over it and cap- 

 tured it alive. It was a very good bird, and the stuffer made a 

 capital job of it. 



A few weeks after I got a green sandpiper, which I also had 

 preserved, as it is rather a rare bird. The green sandpiper is 

 larger than the common one, and when fresh killed there is a 

 slight shade of green on the rather long legs. They are very 

 like a common snipe in shape, size, habits, and flight, but are 

 whiter in plumage and not so pretty. 



Towards the end of September my brother John and three 

 friends, J. K. Heginbottom, H. Dawson, and E. Mills, turned up 

 as per agreement for an expedition down the river, and I may at 

 once say that sport was quite a secondary consideration with them. 

 It was a very rough day, and I would have evaded going had it 

 been possible. As, however, H. and M. had absorbed several 

 lotions on their way from Manchester, and meant having a sail, 

 there was no denying them. So, getting the boat ready about 

 five in the afternoon, we started. 



We beat down for a few miles, but the wind became so strong, 

 and we shipped so much water over the bows, that we gave up 



