It’s the stuff of legend
In the days of the old-time bird collectors and gentlemen gunners, a stuffed spoonbill was regarded as a kind of hallmark of a successful naturalist. High prices ruled for rare birds 50 years ago or so, and on one occasion I was present when a spoonbill changed hands at £40. Today, the buyer would find himself mulcted of £25, with the possible addition of a month’s change of air and surroundings at Her Majesty’s expense.
My old friend, the late E M Connop, the noted Norfolk bird collector of Rollesby, offered me one day a seat in his dog cart to drive over to Morston to
