124 NOTES — ORIGINAL AND SELPXTED. 



Otters near Brightlingsea.— It is recorded in "The Essex County Stan- 

 dard," that on September 25th " Master H. S. Dawson and his otter hounds had 

 good ' sport ' on the Colne. The meet was at L'Aurore, near Brightlingsea, and 

 in the course of four and a-half hours' hunting the hounds killed a fine youn" 

 dog otter, and had a good swim after another." 



Reported Occurrence of a Seal (? sp.) at Walton-on-Naze. — It is con- 

 stantly a matter of regret that the Club has not yet in many likely localities 

 "recorders" capable of sending in authentic information for publication of 

 natural-historical occurrences in their respective neighbourhoods. A newspaper 

 note to the following effect is the only record we have of the capture of a seal at 

 Walton : — " It was rumoured on Thursday last (September 7th) that a seal had 

 been seen disporting in the Wallett. Like unto some other true rumours, it was 

 pooh-poohed, but evidently there must have been something like a seal seen 

 somewhere, for on Friday morning, as Mr. Dan Turpin was enjoying an early 

 ramble at the Naze Point at the north side of Tamarisk Wall, he saw a grey [sic'\ 

 seal lying quiet. The animal had recently been shot at. He returned to Walton 

 for assistance, and the seal was secured and brought to a shed near the Pier. In 

 weight it was about 60 lb. ; length, 4 feet 5 inches ; girth round the bod}', 3 feet. 

 The seal was on exhibition during the day, and a great many viewed it." Un- 

 fortunately we have not heard that any competent naturalist was among the 

 visitors, and we are consequently in doubt whether the animal was really a " grey 

 seal " (^Halichonis gyyphu^)^ as the newspaper has it, which would be a most 

 interesting new record for the county, or only the common seal (^Phoca vitulina), 

 the more probable supposition. Dr. Laver, in reply to inquir}', writes that he 

 has no information as to the occurrence. — Ed. 



Ornithological Notes from Mistley. — It may interest some of your 

 readers to hear that I have had for some time this afternoon a Grey Wagtail 

 (^Montacilla meianope) under my observation. This is the second specimen only 

 that I have observed in this district during some fifteen years. [Writing on 

 September 2rst Mr. Nichols says that "two more Grey Wagtails have appeared 

 on the stream in my garden. The first one, which after writing to you I shot, 

 was an immature bird. The other two are an adult and another bird of the year, 

 I hope that they may stop through the winter with us. I find on referring to my 

 notes that I have twice before observed the Grey Wagtail in this district, in 

 1889 and on November 4th, 1890, both in Lawford parish."] 



On September nth, I saw three Brent Geese (^Bernicla brenta) fly up the river 

 opposite here. Is not this early ? 



It may also be of interest to note that a Green Woodpecker nested and brought 

 off her young within twenty yards of my house. 



I saw on August nth, three Cormorants fly over opposite Mistley, the first I 

 have ever seen up the river. One of the local puntsmen says a pair were always 

 up. This, however, must be an error. — WALTER B, NICHOLS, East Lodge, 

 Mistley, Manningtree, September i8th, 1893. 



The Brightlingsea Heronry. — It will be very gratifying to Essex orni- 

 thologists to know that the herons have re-established themselves at Brightlingsea. 

 As detailed by Mr. Fitch in The Essex Naturalist (ii.pp. 179-81 and " Birds of 

 Essex," pp. 183-84) the birds formerly bred in abundance in a secluded spot 

 known as Heronry Wood on tne Wyvenhoe side of the Twenty-seven Acre Grove, 



