Page:The Zoologist, 4th series, vol 4 (1900).djvu/465

Rh nated, and the same may be said of the Golden-crested Wrens. Curiously enough, the number of eggs laid by our common birds seemed to be fewer than usual. Very few Thrushes' or Blackbirds' nests contained more than four eggs, and often only three were found; while I have found nests with only two young birds. On April 18th a Brown Owl was found nesting in the fork of a tall spruce in Dovedale. The nest was quite open, and the Owl could be seen from the hillside above. Nearly all the nests in this district are in holes of trees, but I have seen a Brown Owl's nest on the ground under the shelter of a small rock in a wood in North Wales. While returning from a visit to a Sparrow-Hawk's nest on May 12th, I heard a clear, ringing, quickly-repeated note, quite unlike that of any of our common birds. Directly afterwards the chatter of a Mistle-Thrush and the Lapwing's cry called my attention to three birds flying rapidly up the valley close together, with regular swift beats of the wing. As they passed me I had a good look at them, and noticed their pale faded brown colour and somewhat Gull-like-shaped wings. They flew straight and fast, and were soon out of sight. At the time I thought they were Sand-Grouse; in fact, I know of no other bird that could be mistaken for them. Black Grouse still breed in small numbers in this neighbourhood. A nest with six eggs was found on May 16th on the Staffordshire side. On May 17th I visited the site of the Raven's nest in Howdenchest, which is mentioned by Seebohm ('British Birds,' vol. i. p. 49). Although it is nearly forty years since the nest was last used by the Ravens, the remains of the nest are clearly visible. One of the keepers told me that he saw a Raven on his beat about April 5th. It was circling round a lambing ewe, and flew right away out of sight. He had also noticed Short-eared Owls above Mulbrook in the autumn of 1899. A Hawfinch's nest, which was found in Clifton on May 26th, contained three incubated eggs, and was built nearly at the top of a good-sized sycamore close to the roadside. The hen sat close, and the nest was only discovered by accident. The Merlins made another attempt to breed on the Grouse moors of North Derbyshire, but the nest with four eggs (almost hatching) was found, and I believe both birds were trapped. A Common Sandpiper's nest found on June 17th, with two eggs chipping and two newly-hatched young, was placed on the side of the railway embankment between Clifton and Norbury, only eight feet from the metals. The old bird was running along the sleepers, and only took wing when a passing train was within a few yards of it. The eggs which were chipped had the largest fragments of the broken shells neatly fitted on to the small ends. The nest was about one hundred and fifty yards or so from the River Dove. On Aug. 4th two large white birds flew over Clifton at a good height, which were almost certainly Gannets. The previous day had been very stormy.— (Clifton Vicarage, Ashburne, Derbyshire).