232 WILD LIFE ON A NORFOLK ESTUARY 



six to thirty birds ; these included greenfinches, linnets, red- 

 poles, twites, and, in one instance, in company with twites, 

 common sparrows. The sparrow is always chatty on migra- 

 tion ; and this morning he was as merry as ever. A few 

 bunches of larks came from sea flying N.E. to S.W. It was 

 a typical migration morning. Wind S.W. by S. at six o'clock, 

 veering to S.S.E. by seven o'clock." 



In December, 1906, I made inquiries of one or two light- 

 shipmen respecting the coming aboard of partridges and 

 sparrows. A mate, an intelligent man, was quite positive 

 that on three occasions French partridges came aboard ; 

 they were secured and eaten. The English partridge he had 

 never seen this was on board the Cockle lightship. The 

 house sparrow was quite a familiar winter visitant, coming 

 with other small birds, and he knew it as quite distinct from the 

 tree sparrow. When he was stationed on the St. Nicholas 

 lightship, a cock pheasant once alighted on board, but the 

 crew failed to capture him ; he got away and "disappointed" 

 them. 



PELICAN 



On the afternoon of July 2ist, 1906, Fred Clarke, one of 

 the Breydoners, hailed me just as I had reached my house- 

 boat to spend the night there, and hastening to his location 

 I found him much excited over the advent of a pelican ; 

 and there, bunched up on the edge of Duffell's drain, with 

 his head drawn into his shoulders, and his pouch full of 

 flounders, sat the ungainly bird, sleeping off the effects of a 

 full stomach. Early next morning I sent my small son 

 Gilbert with his binoculars to have a good look at him. He 

 was in the same spot, and was busy preening his feathers and 

 shaking his wings ; not far from him stood a spoonbill. The 

 pelican shortly after lifted himself a-wing and went direct 

 east. I saw by a s London paper shortly after that a pelican 

 (undoubtedly the same individual) was seen at Whitstable. 

 Mr. J. H. Gurney, writing me on October I2th, says : 



" It seems that when the pelican left Norfolk last July, it 

 went to Whitstable flats at the mouth of the Thames, 

 where it has been through the greater part of August and 

 September." 



I was very loth to give this bird a place in my local list, 



