The Land of the Hills and the Glens 



Snow fell in dry powdery flakes, accompanied by a gale 

 from the west, and much drifting took place on the hills, 

 so that the road at the head of the glen was blocked for some 

 days. The next day was clear and sunny, and I saw the first 

 wheatear, looking cold and uncomfortable. 



2. — APRIL 



By the first of the month quite a number of wheatears had 

 arrived at their nesting-grounds. The weather was now 

 mild and sunny, and indeed throughout the month there were 

 few wintry spells, although a good deal of rain fell and there 

 were strong winds from a westerly quarter. 



On the first of April I visited a raven's nest built on a 

 ledge of rock not more than fifteen feet from the ground on 

 a heather-clad hillside sloping away from a sea loch. The 

 nest was facing north-east and was in an exposed position, 

 but this notwithstanding, the young were just hatching 

 out. I was unable to look right into the nest, but with 

 a stick could feel the soft bodies of the chicks and the 

 remaining eggs. One would have imagined that the parent 

 birds would have displayed great anxiety at such a time, 

 but they appeared singularly indifferent, and did not ap- 

 proach anywhere near when I was at the nest. I noticed one 

 bird apparently feeding the other on a knoll a few hundred 

 yards away. 



That evening I visited a dipper's nest built in a niche 

 of rock above a waterfall. The nest was fully built, but I 

 could not tell whether the bird was sitting, as it was 

 impossible to approach the nest itself. 



On the third, the fine weather continuing, I crossed to 

 one of the islands, and for the first time this year saw numbers 

 of Manx shearw^aters gliding wnth picturesque flight above 

 the surface of the sea. No puffins, apparently, had arrived 

 as yet, but the common gulls were everywhere, and the green 

 plover were commencing to nest. 



i86 



