EARLY SPRING IN SOUTH DEVON 



SPRING is an uncertain season; it pays no attention 

 to the calendar. The argument that spring begins 

 in December is sound enough, for when the shortest day 

 is behind we are on the upgrade; but a visible, even a 

 perceptible spring is another matter. 



On the last day of January, as we steamed through the 

 Mendips, snow-clad slopes detracted from vernal aspira- 

 tions, but the long-limbed, staggering lambs in the South 

 Devon fields were a hopeful sign. Before February was 

 a fortnight old optimistic black-headed gulls were wearing 

 brown hoods, their nuptial garb, though their breeding 

 season was not due for many weeks. 



South Devon, in early spring, is favoured by gulls, 

 black-heads, herrings, commons, and the great black- 

 backs. At Torquay the first species has degenerated into a 

 mendicant; it floats alongside the sea-wall to tempt the 

 indulgent visitor to part with scraps of bread or biscuit, 

 for this omnivorous bird appreciates wheaten flour as 

 well as fish, whether the latter be fresh or very stale. 

 Adaptability of the black-head in this matter of diet is an 

 important factor in influencing its increase, for a bird 

 which can pick up a living alike along the tide line or in 

 a ploughed field is unlikely to starve if one source of 

 supply is cut off. At Brixham, Beer, and other fishing 

 ports and villages the gulls are never short of food when 

 the boats can go out ; they stand waiting when the trawls 

 are cleaned, and are especially attentive when gutting is 

 in process. The Devon and Cornish fishermen recognise 

 that gulls are useful indicators of fish shoals; they give 



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