1891.
July 4
(No 10)
England.
Wells. - my foot when he at once dove and crossed 
the pond to the bushes, most of the way under
water.
  It was interesting to watch the Pochards diving
in this perfectly clear water. They sprang forward
by a powerful stroke of their broad feet and
went straight down to the bottom where, standing
on their heads as it were, they tugged away at
the water plants, maintaining their position by
incessant, vigorous upward strokes of their feet.
The wings were not used in the least or even
opened ever so slightly (as I have already
noted at least one wing of each birds had been
clipped). When they wished to return to the 
surface they merely stopped kicking when the
buoyancy of their bodies brought them up with
great speed. The effort required to maintain
the position at the bottom was much greater
than I had supposed. The paddling was
incessant and made the water boil on the
surface. The birds were apparently eating
the aquatic plants. They worked around the
edges of the submerged bed of corn without
touching it. 
  Late in the afternoon there was a steady
flight of Starlings & Jackdaws to the
Cathedral & ruins. Swifts also appeared in
great numbers, 30 to 50 being almost
constantly in sight. Altogether it was a
red-letter day experience for me - this
afternoon in the Bishop's garden.