252 Jiird Marking. 



Bird Marking 



By Dk. Philip Gossk, M.B.O.U. 



A year ago there appeared in " Bird Notes " a short 

 account of the birds marked here at Beaulieu during the season 

 with migrat'on rings. Possibly this year's results may prove 

 of a little interest. 



In 1912 we marked in all 822 birds during the first 

 six months, and 45 different species. 



The total so far this year (end of July) is 1,279, and 

 again 45 different species. 



Among the birds marked here this year for the first 

 time are Snipe, Tree Pipit, Lesser White -ihroat, Bullfinch, 

 Eing Plover, Stone Chat, Heron, Jay, Herring Gull; Guillemot 

 and Land Eail. All the birds in the following list were wild 

 ones, except the Rose-coloured Pastor, which had been in my 

 aviary for a few weeks, but not settling down with the rest 

 of the birds, was given its liberty. 



On the whole it has been a wonderfully good spring for 

 birds here, as the weather was perfect for nesting with the 

 exception of one violent thunderstorm, which drowned any 

 number of nestlings and fledglings.. 



Nearly all the birds were marked as nestlings, though 

 some Starlings, Chaffinches, Robins, and Sparrows, were caught 

 in a trap and marked in the early part of the year. 



Of tiie "returns " of last years birds, the one of chief in- 

 terest was the case of a Song Thrush, No. 22212, which was 

 found dying at the St. Catherine's light in the Isle of ^^'ight 

 at 5 a.m. on the 10th of February, of this year. In its 

 stomach, which was rather empty, only fragments of insects 

 were found. The lighthouse -keeper reported that the Thrush 

 was killed during an immigration of Song Thrushes and Black- 

 birds from the South; so that there is little doubt that it was 

 returning to the neighlwurhood of its birth, St. Catherine's 

 being about twenty miles due south of this place. I marked 

 the bird as a nestling on the 25th, of April, 1912, in a wood 

 here. We marked neither Marsh nor Coal Tits this year. 

 During the winter these are to be seen everywhere in ;the 

 woods, and plantations, but when the spring comes, I think 

 they must to a great extent go elsewhere, as I seldom find 



