AUGUST IN A BREYDON PUNT 183 



titbit. It is a queer animal dietary are days of sea-fog and mist, when the 



the rook indulges in on the mud- sky is grey, or piled up with a canopy 



flats ! of laden clouds, and the rain beats 



We drift past a scattered flock of pitilessly down. In winter there are 



juvenile dunlins without the black days of chilling storms, and ice in 



breast-patch that their elders still sharp winters drifts downstream in 



retain ; and a few wary ringed plovers packs, bending and tearing out the 



flit to a safer location rather than trust huges stakes that mark the water- 



us as their unsophisticated friends, the way. But under all its conditions and 



dunlins, did. A bunch of knots dash aspects there is always something 



by, and now a trio of grey plovers, weird, or charming, or fascinating to 



uttering their melancholy notes, hurry attract the lover of Nature ; and it 



on to join them. is just possible that when you are least 



Half an hour after finds us at the expecting them you may see still rarer 



boat shed turning the winch that species than we have seen to-day a 



hauls the punt into its haven. We black-tailed godwit, a Caspian tern, a 



have thoroughly enjoyed our trip into phalarope or a goosander. Very early 



mud-land. in September, 1906, a gunner fell in 



* * * with four glossy ibises, just beyond 



Breydon is not always so pleasant gunshot. He vowed to return on the 



as we found it to-day, and yesterday, following day and get one, but he was 



Even in August a gale sometimes breaks disappointed again. However, thir- 



on us, when the hitherto calm channel teen ducks dropped in and afforded 



surges like the sea, and the sea-birds him an easy shot with his punt gun. 



beat up to wind'ard as in wintry days, He secured nine, which turned out to 



screaming their annoyance ; then there be the rare red-crested pochards. 



