60 
AN ATT D AS. 
far off, swam in a direction parallel to that in which I proceeded, 
I was surprised to find that their progression, when quite at 
ease and undisturbed, considerably exceeded mine ; it could not 
have been less than about four Irish miles an hour — my rate of 
walking at the time being three of these miles. When their 
speed was increased by seeing the small old-fashioned shooting cot 
approaching, they swam faster than it could be “ set on them” 
January 1847. — The following information was communicated 
to me respecting the brent goose at Larne Lough, where it is 
numerous during winter. Every evening, at this season, they fly 
down the lough to remain on the deep water near its entrance or 
outside, in the open sea, for the night. After sun-rise — the sun 
being always up before they leave — they invariably fly up the lough 
to their day station. Later in the season, they all betake them- 
selves out to sea in the evening, and every morning then, a 
line of boats containing shooters is stationed at regular intervals 
across the narrowest part of the entrance of the lough (at the ferry), 
to intercept them in their flight. The water is rarely too rough 
for this proceeding, the boats being often almost invisible among 
the breakers. Notwithstanding this daily practice of the shooters, 
the birds always take the same course of flight, above the water, 
but generally keep so high that not many are killed from the 
boats. Once only has my informant observed the brent goose 
to feed by night here, when a few birds out of a flock were so 
noticed by moonlight. 
During the last week of this month (January, 1847), brent 
geese were very numerous and tame, both in Lame and Belfast 
loughs, though the weather at the time, as well as that preceding 
and subsequent to it, was fine. They appeared in such long, 
solid masses, as to be compared to highways on the water. At 
such times, the fowler speaks of shooting “ along a mile of them.” 
They were higher up both loughs at night than previously known 
to be, and, in the latter estuary, approached within about two fur- 
longs of the quays of the town. Seventy-nine birds were killed 
here during the week by a wild- fowl shooter, fourteen of which 
