268 BIRD-LIFE OF THE BORDERS. 



often engaged at a time. He appeared to roost among the 

 sand -links, which are very extensive, at times alighting on 

 some disused buildings, and by day was usually seen sitting 

 on the sands. I did not chance to fall in with the Eagle on 

 any of my visits to the coast, but Mr. Bell, the mail-carrier, 

 tells me he saw him almost every day, usually " sitting on 

 the sands eating a ' Ware-goose ' (= Brent), and with half a 

 dozen Grey Crows perched all around and close to him." 

 He remained till well on in March, when, of course, the 

 supply of " pensioners " ceased to exist. 



On December 8th, 1885, about thirty Geese arrived, and 

 my boatman launched the punt to go in pursuit. He noticed 

 they were unusually tame, especially as several Wigeon were 

 in company with them. He had already got within easy shot, 

 when suddenly a " Glead " appeared, having apparently 

 descended from the skies, and hovered over the Geese within 

 a yard of their heads. Three times they sprang, but, not 

 daring to fly, splashed straight down again into the water 

 just where they had risen. S. then fired, killing three Geese 

 and two Wigeon, and the * Glead ' made off for the main 

 land. From the description given me, this Glead was no 

 doubt a Buzzard, being a large dark-brown bird with broad 

 heavy wings and straight-edged tail. In answer to a ques- 

 tion as to size, S. remarked that it " was not half so big as 

 the Eagle (of 1881) : that bird was as large as a canny- 

 sized laddie sitting on the sands ! " 



In cruising year after year over the same grounds, one 

 notices small geological changes (if the word is admissible) 

 constantly going on, and the causes are often interesting. A 

 little mussel-spawn happens accidentally to become deposited 

 by the current on sand, instead of on its natural bed of mud. 

 As the young mussels grow, the mud also appears to grow 

 around them the mussels create it. After a while the 

 Zostera begins to take root, and in a few years a stretch of 

 several acres of mud, with all its peculiar vegetable and crus- 

 tacean productions, has from such small beginnings been 

 created, in the midst of sand. This in time forms a fresh 

 haunt and feeding ground for wildfowl. Ducks are now 

 regularly found where none were ever known before those 



