468 
mr. a. h. Patterson’s natural history 
same climatic influences which affected the Glossy Ibises and 
Pelican, I take it, tempted hither this rare waterfowl. 
On September 8th I was much entertained at seeing a young 
Heron attempting to swallow a flounder much too large for 
its capacities. Two or three gulls drew up hoping to see it 
throw the fish away in disgust, but it persevered. Still more 
gulls came along, and still more until some scores were running 
to see what was happening. In a short time I roughly counted 
as many as 200 gulls surrounding the stupid Heron, the out- 
side birds, like folks on the edge of a crowd, not knowing, 
I am convinced, what they were hurrying up for, but simply 
judging by the actions of those who had preceded them that 
something unusual was happening. The Heron eventually 
dropped the flounder, and took to wing. 
September 16th. Hooded Crow on Caister sand-dunes. 
A rather unusual show of Golden Plovers, September 18th. 
heading N. on a S.E. wind ! 
September 19. Saw the first migratory Rooks coming in. 
Teal showed up in rather more than usual numbers in 
September. One gunner killed twelve in one day. For 
years past a perceptible lessening of this species has been 
apparent. 
I witnessed an interesting “ passage ” of small migrants 
early on the morning of October 9th, on the North Denes : 
Linnets, Greenfinches, Redpoles and Twites passed overhead 
in continuous flocks, and unmistakably among them quite 
a score of Common Sparrows. The flocks of finches ran 
from half a score to thirty birds, Larks were also coming in. 
Wind S.W. by S. at 6 a.m., and had veered to S.S.E. by 
7 o’clock. i 
October 10th. Great numbers of Larks coming in. In 
this month the pretty Swimming Crab (Portunus holsatus) 
occurred ; and an example I sent to the British Museum was 
returned to me on October 19th with a note from Mr. G. A. 
Boulenger confirming my finding. 
On October 20th near the harbour mouth, I fell in with an 
immense number of Herrings that had been drawn in by an 
undercurrent. Almost every specimen had a Brazil-nut shaped 
