22 BIRD HAUNTS AND NATURE MEMORIES 



by shallow tidal gutters ; in the gutters gobies and shrimps 

 dart away, scared by the human shadow, stirring the loose 

 mud in their hurry; above the saltings the redshanks yelp, 

 annoyed and anxious. Sixty-one sheld-duck, perhaps 

 the most beautiful of our resident fowl, were resting on 

 the slub and short grass, preening themselves and leaving 

 behind a litter of white and gay chestnut feathers. 

 Many of the birds were drakes, adorned with bigger knobs 

 on their scarlet bills than their mates, who, no doubt, 

 were deep in some rabbit-burrow, sitting numerous, 

 down-surrounded eggs. When the young brood, tiny 

 infants in down, are led from the burrow to the shore, 

 the fishermen lie in wait to intercept them; the sheld- 

 duck is a showy, handsome bird on ornamental waters. 

 Nevertheless, it is no easy matter to capture these 

 juveniles, for at a very early age they can run, and if they 

 gain the water they prove that diving is instinctive; even 

 a trained water-dog cannot catch them then. 



On the Warren, moles burrow in the loose sand, making 

 superficial runs through the turf and star-grass roots; 

 these miners had many runs on the Sands, even below 

 high-tide mark. Surely there are few earthworms 

 within reach of salt water; indeed I have seen countless 

 thousands, drowned out and slain by an exceptionally 

 high tide. Probably the pioneer moles had invaded the 

 sand for the sake of lobs or other marine worms; they 

 had been busy, for the tunnels ran in all directions, 

 crossing and recrossing. Round the point where the sands 

 extend to the islet of Llanddwyn, we met with some 

 accidental members of the fauna, all below the last tide 

 line. The weather had been boisterous, and a strong 

 west wind was lifting the drying sand in clouds, piling 

 the particles on to the dunes ; a number of round crusta- 

 ceans were whisked inland, rolling over the ripple marks. 

 They were masked crabs, usually rather deep water 



