Page:The Zoologist, 1st series, vol 4 (1846).djvu/130

1296 {|
 * Whinchat ||April 23
 * Red-backed Shrike ||May 11
 * House Martin || 29
 * Swift || 13
 * Turtle Dove ||May 9
 * Garden Warbler || 14
 * }
 * Garden Warbler || 14
 * }

The long, cold, miserable winter of 1844–5, throughout Europe intensely severe, led me to expect a late arrival of the summer birds of passage. The 18th of March, Black- heath was covered with snow, and it was bitterly cold. The 2nd of April I espied a little bird flitting about from tree to tree, and soon heard the peculiar note of the chiff- chaff, the pioneer of the warblers. He had, however, but little to say, for he seemed to think with me, that chewing condensed Thames fog on the summit of Shooter's Hill at break of day was no treat. The afternoon of Sunday the.6th of April, I was surprised at observing two swallows comfortably hawking over the pond to the east of Eltham Park. I did not notice another swallow till the 12th, and they did not arrive in force before the 21st of April ; our own swallows came the 2nd of May. Numbers of willow wrens anived on Shooter's Hill the 7th of April. Early on Sunday morning the 1 3th of April, as I sat in the woods musing on the sins and sorrows of the city, compared with the innocent Arcadian revelling in the luxuries of the "incense-breathing morn," seven shillings a week, a wife and ten fine children, a nightingale darted close by me into a furze-thicket. There goes his red tail, and now he returns thanks for his safe arrival home, in what the bird-fanciers technically term "the sweet jug and water bub- ble." Later in the day a shepherd boy heard another nightingale on the opposite side of the woods. The cuckoo came the 21st. The moon was at full on the 22nd. I was greatly disappointed at not meeting with the blackcap from the 6th to the 9th of April. I beat up his usual quarters every morning, without finding him, till the 23rd of April, when, instead of exhibiting on the tops of the trees, the restless anxiety and excitement of a first arrival, anxiously looking out, and incessantly singing for a partner, he was composedly enjoying, in the depths of the underwood, the soothing society of his red- headed wife. I concluded the late opening of the buds had delayed his journey, and he had picked up his mate while travelling through France. I had a busy time of it the morning of the 23rd of April. Exactly on the same spot as last year I this morn- ing discovered the two white-throats ; several tree pipits had also arrived. I heard the plaintive note of the whinchat some time before I could find him. On the 27th of April the nightingale trappers were out in the woods in full force with their wives and children. I soon heard the call of a nightingale, saw him drop, down went the trap, rush like madmen went the trappers to find who had caught the poor victim, for which there were laid down no less than seven traps. Half-a-crown bought the bird. On discovering that his leg had been broken by the descent of the wire I gave him his liberty two miles from where he was taken. The following Saturday the 3rd of May, observing a pair of nightingales feeding in the grass skirting the woods, and that one had a very singular gait, I looked through the telescope, and immediately discovered my poor broken-leg- ged nightingale limping about in rare good spirits ; supporting himself with one wing he managed to hobble along the grass famously. I was overjoyed at again seeing him in his old quarters so happy under his affliction ; and many and many a time, through the spring, have I leaned against a tree, and listened with delight to the glorious me- lody of my broken legged nightingale. I considered I had laid out my money well. The 29th of April I observed two house martins masticating mud for their Irish cabin. They appeared to have been here a day or two. Our martins arrived the 16th May. I saw a turtle-dove on the 9th of May. The 11th of May fell in with a male and fe- male red-backed shrike. 13th of May saw a swift steering due north across the Dover