NATURAL HISTORY NOTES FROM SUFFOLK. 329 



of finding that some scamp or scamps had been there in my 

 absence, and dug it out. On making enquiries of a man who 

 knew of the nest, I learned that two boys had taken the eggs and 

 caught the duck. There is some satisfaction, however, in being able 

 to state that she afterwards managed to escape from them. The 

 eggs must have been useless, as I believe incubation had been going 

 on some time. I was told to-day that there had been another Shell- 

 duck's nest this year at Black Heath, further down the river, and 

 that this also had been destroyed. It seems almost impossible 

 now-a-days for a pair to bring off a brood in safety.* A very large 

 black-backed gull, I think L. marinus, was circling overhead this 

 morning close to the house. Every now and then he swept down 

 close to some chicken-coops : his flight was truly majestic. There 

 have been a few King Dotterels about the mud-flats for the last 

 few days. Noticed two Black-headed Gulls on the wing, also a 

 Nightjar near the wood. 



30th. A cock Blackbird comes down to feed on the mud near 

 the same spot almost daily. To-day he was accompanied by a 

 young one. Both Starlings and Blackbirds seem to find abundance 

 of food there. I have seen both species pull out very big red 

 worms, which I think must have been lug-worms. 



31st. Saw a pair of Stock Doves alight on the marshes near 

 Iken Wood. Observed one a few days back near the decoy. 



June. 



1st. Found a Yellowhammer's nest containing four eggs. 

 Met a young Peewit running " on tip-toes" along the road, and 

 apparently only just hatched. When only a few yards off it saw 

 me and squatted flat, with head and neck stretched out. While 

 in this attitude these little creatures always, I believe, remain 

 silent as well as motionless, but as soon as they are taken in the 

 hand, or indeed know that they have been discovered, they squeal 

 very loudly. 



2nd. The Small Heath butterfly first seen. 



5th. While watching with a telescope a Heron fishing at 

 low water, I saw him make a violent plunge forward, and 



* Why not prosecute the offenders ? The Shellduck is included in the 

 Schedule to the " Wild Birds Protection Act, 1880," and may not be killed or 

 taken between March 1st and August 1st under the penalty of a pound. — Ed. 



