WINTER DAYS ON BREYDON 19 



December 23rd, 1894. A heavy north-west gale had been 

 blowing all the previous day, and two flood tides, without an 

 ebb between them i.e. one tide following in the wake of the 

 other, there having been no intermediate fall piled up Brey- 

 don four or five feet above the level of the marshes behind. 

 The water filtered through a weak spot that had been over- 

 looked by the tenant of the marshes, whose business it was to 

 watch eventualities, and be prepared against them ; an ever- 

 increasing volume of water poured in, until a huge gap was 

 torn, and hundreds of thousands of tons of salt water swept 

 into the marshes, first filling the ditches, and then flooding 

 many acres before the tide began to fall again. But before 

 another tide could add to the inundation, steps had been 

 made to remedy the breach, and the pump-mills were set 

 going night and day, flinging the water back again. Curiously 

 enough, while the gale was at its height, great flocks of lap- 

 wings were seen coming in from over the North Sea dead 

 beat (as they always arrive) by flying at more than right- 

 angles to the wind, as is their wont on migration. These 

 settled in the lowlands, being attracted by the pervading 

 moisture, and the millions of worms that came to the surface 

 to die of the salts. To their hosts were added huge flocks of 

 various gulls that made the marshlands white with seafowl, 

 and that reminded ancient marsh-dwellers of the days of their 

 youth, when similar sights were far less infrequent. The 

 usual onslaughts were made by the gunning fraternity, and 

 many a wretched lapwing never saw the new year. 



It snowed four hours without ceasing on December 3Oth, 

 and Breydon and the surrounding marshes were seen under 

 quite another aspect, to the delight of those devoted to gun- 

 ning pursuits. My notebook at this time refers to numbers of 

 little auks 1 coming to grief, flocks of sheld-ducks, scaups, 

 scoters, wigeon, pochards, golden eyes and others being 

 driven into the neighbourhood. I went to Burgh Castle on 

 January /th (1895), and saw astonishing numbers of gulls and 

 lapwings still congregated on the opposite marshes, not yet 

 tired of their diet of earthworms. As for ducks " the oldest 

 inhabitant" in Belton whom I interviewed, notwithstanding 

 his many winters' experiences, said "he'd never known so 

 many knockin' about in that neighbourhood afore." 



1 Notes of an East Coast Natiiralist, p. 1 1. 



