Page:The Zoologist, 3rd series, vol 1 (1877).djvu/302

276 from the sea, and in close proximity to the town of Barrow) on October 14th; and on the same day I obtained two Knots in winter plumage on the sea-shore. For about three weeks from this date ducks were tolerably plentiful on the reservoir and neighbouring ponds, and twelve or thirteen specimens, including Wigeon, Scoters, Goldeneye and Scaup Ducks were, to my knowledge, bagged during this period, independently of those killed on the coast. These birds were doubtless stragglers from flocks migrating southwards, and I could hear of no more being obtained till December 30th, when I killed a pair of Goldeneyes and a male Scaup on the same reservoir. At the same time a friend wounded another Scaup, which, being unable to fly, remains still (April) with us, fraternizing with some tame ducks, but always roosting on an island by itself. It remains to be seen whether it will interbreed with its domestic companions.

Very few birds came under my immediate notice during the northward migration in the spring of this year. On March 1st I observed a large flock of Golden Plover, some of which were in summer plumage, on a fallow field in the neighbourhood; and on the 4th a number of wild geese, twenty-seven in all, were seen wending their way towards the East, evidently ignorant of the fact that by the operation of a recent Act of Parliament, which protects these migrants during the breeding season, they might have descended from their elevated position without much fear of molestation.

The rough cold weather that prevailed at the end of 1876 and the commencement of the present year brought in a number of sea birds which are not, as a rule, to be found in our channel. On December 28th a fine specimen of the Great Northern Diver, together with two immature Redthroats, were seen, and I regret to add killed close to the town, and on the 31st twelve wild geese appeared on Walney Island, though, as it chanced to be Sunday, they were allowed to pass on their way unharmed. On the 1st January the harbour was full of Ducks of various species, Gulls, Divers, Razorbills, and Gannets, though, owing to the prevalence of a strong easterly gale but few specimens were obtained. A fine Gannet, an old male, measuring six feet across the wings, was, however, procured by a friend, together with a male Scoter, large flocks of which have frequented Morecambe Bay throughout the winter. In the gizzard of the last-mentioned bird I found several