In (he Neighbourhood of Salisbury 



255 



organs, how surely he would be found guilty of some oversight, 

 perhaps making the bill turn up instead of down, or the tarsus 

 short instead of long, which would mar all his efforts, and end in 

 the simple failure of all his design. But let us reflect, good reader! 

 If God has fitted the birds of the air with such minute and fault- 

 less wisdom for the exact manner of life they have to lead, surely 

 we may also believe, to our individual comfort, that He has, as truly, 

 bestowed upon each one of us such qualities as are necessary for the 

 life to which He may have been pleased to call us ; and that nothing, 

 therefore, but our own self-will can defeat His gracious purposes, 

 or cause us to fail in carrying out to a successful issue those good 

 works which He has before ordained that we should walk in. Only 

 let us use our pound with as much assiduity and perseverance as 

 those little Turnstones did their bills, and our mountains shall be 

 cast into the sea before our honest endeavours, as surely as they 

 turned over their codfish ; and well will it be for us, if we take as 

 little note of our performances, however successful we may be, as 

 they did, simply making the best use of what has been given us, 

 and then thinking no more about the matter ; but " leaving no stone 

 unturned " that may contain a prize beneath it, and as soon as 

 one task is finished immediately setting about the next. 



I must not omit to thank those kind friends who have assisted 

 me with so much information in the preparing of this paper, more 

 especially Mr. Edward Hart, of Christchurch, whose carefully-kept 

 and accurate notes have furnished me with a host of information ; 

 as also Mr. E. Baker, of Mere, and Mr. Cecil Smith, of Somerset, 

 with many others. Without their aid this would have been but a 

 most imperfect and meagre list, whereas it will be seen that our 

 neighbourhood, including the mouth of our river Avon — which 

 we may well press into our service, is as rich a locality for our 

 water birds as the South of England possesses. 



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