Knot struck the water within a few feet of the boat, while the shooter in the stern wheeled round just in time to drop a Golden Plover which had already left us forty yards in the rear. The sound of the shots brought up a Merlin to see what was happening, but he prudently refrained from any close investigation, and we, of course, began to speculate eagerly as to what we should see when we reached the much lauded mud-flats beyond. But, as often happens, the birds had appeared just where thev were not expected, and