NATURAL HISTORY NOTES FROM SUFFOLK. 289 



low ground where the heath and marshes join, contains some fine 

 old hollies ; but the majority of the trees (oaks) are small and 

 stunted in growth, probably from poverty of soil and exposure to 

 the full power of the biting east winds of early spring. Part of 

 a much larger wood (Sudbourne great wood) lies, I believe, within 

 the Iken boundary, or at any rate approaches it very closely. 

 About the meadows, near the decoy, are some alder " cars," as 

 well as a few large single alders scattered here and there. There 

 is still a fair amount of hedge-row timber, though it has been 

 sadly thinned of late years ; yet this parish has suffered less 

 from " improvements " than many in the neighbourhood. There 

 is a good deal of marsh land alongside the river, protected in 

 most places by artificial banks or "walls," but at Iken Cliff the 

 heath comes right down to the water, ending in low sandy cliffs. 

 Here a colony of Sand Martins has been established for years ; 

 a few pairs of Starlings occupy some of their holes during the 

 breeding season, and Kingfishers occasionally make use of one 

 as a nesting-place. The opposite bank of the river is of similar 

 character, but generally flatter. On the heath at Iken, near the 

 water's edge, grow two clumps of oaks, and at this spot a sandy 

 beach is left bare at low water ; but in most places a fringe of 

 saltings, of varying width, extends along the river, and is much 

 frequented by Kedshanks and their young. Peewits used to breed 

 in great numbers about the marshes and on bare parts of the 

 heath, but, having been robbed year after year of their eggs, they 

 have been gradually driven away from their old haunts, till there 

 are only a few pairs left. 



On the whole this spot seems admirably suited to the require- 

 ments of birds of many kinds, differing widely in habits ; but to 

 such a pitch has game preserving been brought in this part of the 

 county, that most rapacious birds and mammals have been almost 

 exterminated. Some idea of the scarcity of hawks of all kinds 

 may be gathered from the fact that, during the three months I 

 remained at Iken, I only saw two, — a Kestrel, and, I think, a 

 Sparrowhawk, — yet only a few years back Kestrels were common 

 enough, and several might often be seen simultaneously poised 

 aloft over the marshes, on the look-out for Moles, Field Voles, 

 &c. Stoats, Weasels, Hedgehogs, and Jays, we rarely, if ever, 

 get sight of now ; and as to Magpies, one would almost as soon 

 expect to stumble upon a specimen of the Dodo as to meet with 



