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THE ESSEX NATURALIST
"Not outstanding for birth or lineage, but what is more,
remarkable for his private character. He cared little for
gaining wealth or title; he preferred to deserve them
rather than to acquire them. Worthy of a more dis-
tinguished fate, he grew old beneath his own roof, con-
tented with his lot. Whilst in other matters he easily set
limits upon himself, he set none in the pursuit of his
studies".
Bird Notes and Wild Fowl Counts
on the Stour
H. McSweeney
THE Stour estuary, separating Essex from Suffolk, is the most
Northern coastal boundary of Essex. The estuary, for the
purpose of this report, is the area between Harwich to the east,
and Manningtree to the west, a distance of approx. 10 miles, with
an average width of 11/2 miles. At low water large expanses of
marine mud, saltings and a few sand bars are exposed, providing
a suitable habitat for wild fowl and wading birds. The banks
are mainly covered with Spartina, Sea Aster, and Sea Lavender,
the tidal zones are at times abundant in Zostera marina.
National Wild Fowl Counts (1958-59)
The following list are the totals counted on the Wild Fowl
Count days: —