. Nature and sport in Britain . se were to befound in many parts of the Marsh. So tamed werethey by cold and starvation that they were actually seenresting in the garden of a Marsh farmer, and couldhave been shot from one of the homestead many were killed ; they were, as a farmers sonsaid to me, too poor to be worth eating. Many raresea-ducks were about the coast at the same time. Iremember that while skating near the sea, withina mile of Eastbourne, on some flooded hollows amidthe wide expanse of shingle known locally as the Crumbles, wildfowl flew over the heads of the crowdof sk
. Nature and sport in Britain . se were to befound in many parts of the Marsh. So tamed werethey by cold and starvation that they were actually seenresting in the garden of a Marsh farmer, and couldhave been shot from one of the homestead many were killed ; they were, as a farmers sonsaid to me, too poor to be worth eating. Many raresea-ducks were about the coast at the same time. Iremember that while skating near the sea, withina mile of Eastbourne, on some flooded hollows amidthe wide expanse of shingle known locally as the Crumbles, wildfowl flew over the heads of the crowdof skaters on several occasions ; among these I notedthat beautiful duck the Golden-Eye. This strangeexpanse of pebble beach, the Crumbles, runs fromPevensey to Eastbourne, and is about three miles inlength by three-quarters of a mile at its widest has many attractions for wild birds, and at one time ^ During the winter of 1902 some Glossy Ibises—far wanderers indeed—were about the Marsh, and a few specimens were shot. 6. A SUSSEX MARSH I imagine the stone-curlew, or thick-knee, sometimescalled Norfolk plover, found an excellent breeding-place here. Rabbits are abundant, and hares betakethemselves hither when too hotly pursued on the scent-holding pastures of the adjacent Marsh. In summerthe handsome sea-poppy, or horn-poppy, blooms hereabundantly, and its delicate yellow flower and the fineblue of a wild borage show notably against the greyglare of the interminable shingle. The sea has muchreceded along this part of the coast, and whereas inin old times ships rode at anchor close to PevenseyCastle, it is now nearly a mile from the walls of thatstronghold to the shore. Along the coastline of the marsh many notable andsome rare birds are to be seen at different seasons ofthe year. Flights of dunlin, wheeling in the wintersunlight like little clouds of drab and silver, or run-ning briskly along the edge of the tide, are familiarobjects. I have noted along the quiet shore-l
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