3 o WILD LIFE ON A NORFOLK ESTUARY 



He knew the ruffs in his younger days. " Them with the 

 frills on ? " said he. " Oh, yes ! I've seen 'em dancin' and 

 caperin' about on the flats afore now ; but that was yeers 

 ago. I've shot into bunches of reeves in September [probably 

 birds of mixed sexes and ages], once at a lot of at least 

 sixty : they must have been bred in the Eastern Counties. 

 Anyway, you never see two old birds coloured alike ! " 



He once saw a small hawk hanging around Breydon 

 "chivying starlin's." He paid no particular attention to it, 



TIME! GENTLEMEN!" RUFFS FIGHTING 



but describing its appearance and colours to one of the 

 Upchers, was told to try to secure it. 



" Why didn't you get it ? " said Upcher. " I'd have given 

 you a tidy bit for it ! " 



This put P on the alert, and he observed it next 



morning just over the walls on the marshes, near " George's 

 Deek." He hid himself in the grass, and watched the hobby 

 doing its hardest to bag a starling. The starlings would 

 open out as it made a swoop at them, continually baffling 

 it. After a fruitless trial or two some crows dashed in 

 [presumably] to the help of the starlings, to the great dis- 

 comfiture of the hawk, who beat a retreat, and was not seen 

 again. 



