30 BIRD-LIFE OF THE BORDERS 



mid-winter — daintily wading" in the shallows and burn- 

 sides, turning over each dead leaf in search of any food 

 it may conceal. Their main numbers, however, are made 

 up at the respective dates above mentioned. 



Such are the few features of bird-life in February. 

 I cannot find in my notes the record of any other species 

 appearing on the moors before the end of that wintry 

 month. At lower levels, however, another vernal sign 

 foretells the changing" season. That is, the resumption 

 of song by several species, including" skylark, yellow- 

 hammer, chaffinch, and hedge-sparrow. This may be 

 expected whenever temperature rises above 55 or 

 thereby. 



March 



Early in March, Mallards and Teal return to the 

 moorland loughs. This is probably only a local move- 

 ment : but, even in open winters, it sometimes happens 

 that no ducks remain on the higher moors, except per- 

 haps a few Golden-eyes. 



The Titlark is another of the common moorland birds 

 that arrive at this period. In such hordes do they come, 

 and so deliberately do they saunter along, that it is hardly 

 possible to overlook their passage. This, in the low- 

 lands, occurs by mid-March ; but it is a fortnight later 

 before they move into the hill-country. Every year 

 during the concluding days of the month, the hosts of 

 these little birds that suddenly appear, passing up the 

 valleys of North Tyne and Reed water, are a feature of 

 the season. These " watergates M form a natural access 

 to vast areas of moorland. 



The middle of March marks the date when the grey 

 wagtail returns to grace every burnside, and to charm 



