74 BIRD-LIFE IN A SOUTHERN COUNTY. 



Here also the Heron is a familiar object, as 

 persevering in his labours as the salmon-fishers 

 themselves, whose tiny cottages, with their seine 

 nets hanging up to dry around them, dot the 

 banks at intervals. The Heron breeds in the 

 woods upon the sloping hills that tower above 

 the winding river about Sharpham, a spot from 

 which the finest view of the lower Dart can be 

 obtained. The heronry here is not a very extensive 

 one (numbering but a score or so of nests), but 

 the rookery is justly considered one of the finest 

 in the county. These Sharpham Herons wander 

 far and wide over the adjoining country, and 

 are particularly fond of visiting the rocky shores 

 of Tor Bay, arriving usually about high-tide and 

 obtaining a meal as the waters recede. To our 

 mind, the Heron is the most interesting avine 

 ornament upon these lower reaches of the river, 

 whether he be seen standing amongst the half- 

 uncovered black rocks, draped and garnished with 

 their olive-bladdered sea-weeds, or on the bare 

 muds, where naught can give him shelter or 

 conceal his stately form. Here the blue-grey 

 fisher-bird, ever an object-lesson in the virtue of 

 patience, pursues his search for food, wrapped 



