7 o SOUTHERN ESTUARIES 



swanherds themselves, who, owing to the extent of 

 the streams and dykes along which the swans nest, 

 are, of course, less well-known to the birds than are 

 the keepers at Abbotsbury. Mr. Stevenson was told 

 by John Trett, a marshman of Surlingham, that he 

 was " attacked by an old male swan as he was examin- 

 ing the eggs in a nest, to which, being a boggy place, 

 he had crawled on his hands and knees. The swan, 

 coming up behind him unperceived, struck him so 

 violently on the back, that he had difficulty in regain- 

 ing his boat, where he laid for some time in great 

 pain, and though he managed at length to pull home, 

 he was confined to his bed for more than a week." 

 Another marshman was struck on the thigh in the 

 same manner, and described the force of the blow 

 and the pain occasioned by it as something incredible. 

 The Abbotsbury swans, though not pinioned like the 

 Norfolk birds, and leading a life of freedom on the 

 verge of the sea, seem to know by instinct that the 

 protection and safety which they obtain at Abbotsbury 

 is more than enough to compensate them for the 

 loss of the freedom and independence which an isolated 

 nesting-place must give ; and with the exception of 

 about twenty pairs, they congregate as has been 

 described, abandoning not only their natural instincts 

 for isolation, but also much of the combativeness with 

 which this instinct is accompanied. Fights between 

 the cock swans do occur. But the swanherd soon 

 restores peace. One fine old bird which had quarrelled 

 with both of its neighbours, was made happy by a 



