OYSTER CATCHER V. HERON.
(To THE EDITOR Or THE " SPECTATOR."1 Sm,—Mr. Geo. E. Low's letter " A Fearless Tern " in your issue of August 27th reminds me of an interesting incident which I witnessed when fishing on the South Esk, Forfarshire, last June. A mile or two below Clova the river winds between small wooded cliffs, now on one side, now on the other, and partly surrounds large meadows of rough tufts of grass. On reaching one of the bends I generally disturbed a heron and always a pair of oyster catchers. The latter seemed to consider the meadow as their private property, flying over one with indignant remonstrances. Usually the heron flopped up from the water, pitched and turned from side to side, and then disappeared over the trees on the other side, but on one occa- sion it started to fly across the wide, flat meadow to another wooded bend of the river below. Directly the oyster catchers caught sight of it they left off scolding me, and wont screaming after the heron, and one of them chased it right round the meadow, often getting within a yard or two of the big bird, which dodged about and finally came back and disappeared over the trees, fairly driven away. One wonders if an oyster catcher ever caught an oyster.—I am, Sir, &c.,
Surrey Lodge, 160 Denmark Hill, S.E. S.
B. MARSTON.
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