210 FIELD-NOTES FOR THE YEAR. CH. XV. 



When I have concealed myself in one of my 

 hiding-places in a newly-sown field of oats or peas, 

 the geese, after keeping me perhaps a long time 

 waiting, may arrive at last ; and alighting on the 

 field, may commence feeding without any suspicion 

 of danger till they come nearly within shot. But 

 although concealed from the geese, I may be visible 

 in a different direction, when a couple of villainous 

 large black-backed gulls — as happened to-day — 

 came by, and seeing me lying in wait in a suspicious 

 manner, immediately commenced screaming and 

 wheeling over my head. The geese, who are all 

 dispersed in the field, no sooner hear the gulls than 

 they run rapidly together away from me, for they 

 know by the direction in which the gulls are look- 

 ing where the danger is; they then rise and betake 

 themselves straight to the sea, leaving me without 

 the chance of a shot, after all the trouble I have 

 had in preparing an ambuscade. 



One clay this month, too, after endeavouring for 

 some time to approach unseen some white-fronted 

 geese, one of which I was very anxious to procure 

 for a friend, I saw the birds go to a pool where I 

 knew I could get within shot of them without the 

 least trouble. So making a considerable circuit, 

 I arrived at a part of the ground from which my 

 approaching the geese was perfectly easy. But just 



