. The birds of Essex: a contribution to the natural history of the country. Birds. 196 THE BIRDS OF ESSEX. all the rivers. * » *. The Geese have less and less feeding ground every year. There is hardly a place where they can sit at low water and feed far enough from the edge not to be liable to be disturbed ; 3'et the Geese of late years come more regularly than thirty or forty years ago. Then, in mild winters, we often saw none, or next to none, through whole seasons. I know not why this isâperhaps because, on account of a run of good breeding years, there are more of the birds, or perhaps,
. The birds of Essex: a contribution to the natural history of the country. Birds. 196 THE BIRDS OF ESSEX. all the rivers. * » *. The Geese have less and less feeding ground every year. There is hardly a place where they can sit at low water and feed far enough from the edge not to be liable to be disturbed ; 3'et the Geese of late years come more regularly than thirty or forty years ago. Then, in mild winters, we often saw none, or next to none, through whole seasons. I know not why this isâperhaps because, on account of a run of good breeding years, there are more of the birds, or perhaps, as there is much less of the weed they eat, there may be less of it adrift at seaâfor the Geese used sometimes to remain all the winter without coming within sight of land. * * * I will make one remark about them : They never go to sleep. Look at them when you will with a telescope, all day the}' are wide awake, and all night they seem equally busy, whether you find them near the land or go off to sea after them on a calm night. When far off at sea, you may hear their noise the whole night, shifting its bearing with the tide. I never saw, or heard of anyone seeing, a Brent Goose with its head on its back, as if asleep [though] Ducks and Wigeon may often be seen in this ; Barnacle Goose : Beriiicla leucopsis. A rather uncommon winter visitor, very much less abundant than the Brent Goose. Lindsey, writing from Harwich in 1851, speaks of it (27. App. 59) as "a winter visitor here, ap- pearing in considerable flocks, particularly when the weather is ;' The Parsons Collection contains one shot by Mr. Parsons on New England Island, on Dec, nth, -If 1830. In the winter of ,^ 1870-71 a few were seen m the Thames estuary, in company with Brent Geese (Smeeâ34. 2605). Mr. F. Spalding has two, shot at Tollesbury in January, 1887. Mr. Hope^ v\ho has specimens shot at Maldon in March, 1886, says it is "not un- common in small ; Mr. Fit
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