170 BRITISH BIRDS. 



I went to see the breeding- place of the Spoonbills and Cormorants. A 

 winding river passes through lakes and marshes down to Yarmouth ; and 

 in the deep channel boats heavily laden sail up and down, whilst on the 

 shallow broads and in the narrow lanes cut through the marshes we were 

 punted along in little boats with ease. When we were near enough to the 

 sea, the " denes " or sandhills that skirt the coast formed a conspicuous 

 object on the horizon. 



The marshes (or " meshes" as the marshmen call them) are covered 

 over with reeds, with a thick undergrowth of Juncus and Carex. Most 

 of the marsh is accessible with wading-boots ; and in many places we 

 found shooting-boots sufficient. The reeds are regularly cropped, and 

 sold for thatching and as a substitute for straw for cattle. Here and 

 there willows are found, sometimes in sufficient quantity to make it worth 

 while to employ women and children in peeling twigs for basket-making. 

 Fishing is carried on in some of the broads ; and in winter these sheets of 

 water are a great resort for Wild Ducks and other water-birds. Great 

 numbers of half-tame Swans breed on most of the marshes. 



In the evening Joshua, the old fenman whom Mr. Evans had chartered 

 as guide, took us to Hickling Marsh, about a square mile in extent. As 

 we walked along the lanes between the high hedges, Corn-Buntings and 

 Sedge-Warblers were the principal songsters. The part of the marsh 

 which we visited had lately been in the hands of a farmer who had suc- 

 cumbed to the bad harvests; and the reeds were cut and lying in heaps on 

 the ground. For one of these heaps or reed-cocks Joshua steered by a 

 somewhat circuitous route to avoid the dykes, which were generally just 

 too wide to jump across with safety. Peewits and Redshanks got up as we 

 went along ; but we kept steadily to our goal. At length, after a three- 

 mile walk, during which the daylight had perceptibly diminished, Joshua 

 pointed out a heap of cut reeds as " the place." We advanced cautiously 

 to about half a. dozen yards from the heap, when rapidly but silently rose 

 before our admiring eyes a Short-eared Owl, displaying her nest with six 

 eggs conspicuously placed at the foot of the " reed-cock " and half sheltered 

 by it. The bird looked very large as she rose in the evening light and, 

 after a short flight, turned back and wheeled in circles round us. In half 

 a minute she was joined by her mate ; and the two flew round as long as 

 we remained near the nest. Sometimes she hovered at a considerable 

 height perpendicularly over her nest, as if she would assure herself that 

 we had not taken her eggs, and as if she could only see them when she 

 was directly above them. When she had apparently adjusted the focus of 

 her great eyes upon them, she fluttered her wings in a very agitated manner 

 for a few seconds. Whether this peculiar movement was the result of her 

 great anxiety to return to cover them from the chill evening air, or an 

 active expression of her delight at seeing them still in the nest, or an 



