36 WILD LIFE ON A NORFOLK ESTUARY 



fed them from the bridges ; the kindly disposed spread for 

 them table scraps on their very doorsteps in various parts of 

 the town ; but more than one brute made target practice 

 with them. One hapless bird would, or could, not make 

 way for a cyclist, and was accidentally killed by his 

 machine. 



Two or three times I visited Breydon walls during the 

 continuance of the frost and snow, but being well aware of 

 my need of self-restraint, I wisely, I think, kept off Breydon 

 itself. Coots in miserable flocks slouched about on the mud- 

 flats, demoralised by incessant slaughter among their ranks. 

 Parcels of wildfowl flew affrightedly to and fro, for every 

 man's gun was turned against them. " Strike " Sharman, a 

 veteran Breydoner, remembering bygone winters, was tempted 

 again to visit the mudflats, and came home with the foredeck 

 of his punt covered with mallards and pochards. I visited 

 his boat-shed on the 3oth, and saw a row of pochards and 

 scaups lying on a bench. 



" That poor crested grebe," said he, " I picked up exhausted 

 out of a hole in the ice ; the tide had fallen, it couldn't dive 

 away, and it couldn't get on the wing." 



The poor old eel-pickers and other waterside "spaniels," 

 frozen out from drains and channels, hung dejectedly around 

 the quaysides, or crowded into their " shelter," bewailing the 

 bad times and indulging in reminiscences of similar days in 

 the long ago. 



On the 29th I had a look round the Saturday's market. 

 On Edmond's (late Durrant's) game stall I saw a number of 

 mallard and pochards, the latter still in the plumpest con- 

 dition. A few common snipe hung there too ; they were fat 

 enough, although not tempting eager purchasers, but scores 

 (and hundreds of snipe later on) were turned away as thin 

 and unsaleable. On the country-folk's stalls were numerous 

 tufted ducks, pochards, and others. They had been having 

 a fine time on some of the Broads (Hickling in particular), 

 before the fowl were frozen out. Only one jack snipe was 

 noticed in the whole market, but numerous bunches of field- 

 fares, thrushes, blackbirds, and other small birds were on 

 sale, and these found ready customers, which wildfowl did 

 not. 



" So you've been killing your friends the slug-eaters ? " 



