Page:The Zoologist, 4th series, vol 5 (1901).djvu/232

208 Nov. 15th. They were the only Owls that I saw on the coast during the autumn.

Accipiter nisus (Linn.). Sparrow-Hawk.—First seen on the coast on Sept. 27th, and fairly numerous on Oct. 1st and 4th.

Falco peregrinus, Tunstall. Peregrine.—First seen on Oct. 14th at Brigsley. A second perched on a dead tree in Grainsby Park on 19th, and on 30th one flying over Fenby Wood.

F. œsalon, Tunstall. Merlin.—Only seen once—a young female—at Saltfleet Haven on Sept. 22nd.

F. tinnunculus, Linn. Kestrel.—Fairly numerous on the coast during the autumn, particularly between Sept. 20th and Oct. 4th.

Ardea cinerea, Linn. Heron.—Herons were very numerous on the flats at Tetney by the middle of July, mostly young birds. On Oct. 13th I saw a party of seven or eight on Grainthorpe "fitties."

Botaurus stellaris (Linn.). Bittern.—Since I left Lincolnshire I heard that a Bittern had been shot at North Cotes on Dec. 24th.

Anser brachyrhynchus, Baillon. Pink-footed Goose.—Wild Geese were more abundant than in any recent winter. The first flock, numbering thirty-three birds, passed over Tetney Lock on Oct. 11th, and other flocks were frequently seen all through October and November. On the 14th of the latter month one of the largest migrations of Geese that I have ever witnessed took place. On that morning, between 8 and 9 o'clock, seven large flocks passed over Grainsby from W. to E. The number of birds in each flock varied from about two hundred in the largest to under thirty in the smallest, and all were well out of gunshot.

Tadorna cornuta (S.G. Gmelin). Sheld-Duck.—I saw a Sheld-Duck on a freshwater creek near the coast at North Cotes on July 16th.

Anas boscas, Linn. Mallard.—Mallards were unusually scarce on the coast throughout the winter.

Spatula clypeata (Linn.). Shoveler.—Two old female Shovelers on a pool of water at Tetney behaved as though they