Bird Notes and News 



It has, howevej', been left for a provincial 

 newspaper to discover that a local taxi- 

 dermist regards as " pets " the bird-carcasses 

 which are sent to him to be stuffed. The 

 particular " pet " in this instance was a 

 Honey Buzzard, taken in a trap on a certain 

 estate, and since presented to the local 

 school, " which has quite a museum for 

 object lessons." If the object lessons consist 

 of the rarest birds of the district taken by 

 the most unsportsmanlike means, the object 

 lesson should not be lost on the County 

 Council and the police. 



* * * 



An extraordinary immigration of birds of 

 the Thrush family into South Devon is 

 recorded by Mrs. Fuller Maitland, who writes 

 from Sidmouth that in the early mornings 

 of February 24 and 25, huge flocks of birds 

 were seen coming in from the S.E., and 

 presently every lawn and field at the west 

 side of Sidmouth was covered with thousands 

 upon thousands of Fieldfares, Redwings, and 

 Song-Thrushes. 



" In the Convent fields there was certainly 

 not a square j-ard without a bird. I should 

 think in this garden we had six or seven 

 hundred Thrushes and Fieldfares with a few 



Redwings. There were many Finches, too, 

 but the Thrush tribe supplied the greater 

 number. All Thursday and Friday there 

 was more or less snow on the ground, which 

 melted when the sun came out. On Saturday 

 snow was over everything again, but when 

 the many thaws came the ground was soft 

 and the poor worms certainly ' rose to the 

 occasion ' and seemed to correspond to the 

 number of birds. When the Fieldfares 

 arrived they were a good deal exhausted 

 and sat about looking hunched up and 

 miserable in the snow ; when it thawed they 

 went on till long after sunset pecking at the 

 ground and hunting for worms. They also 

 ' made for ' the holly-trees and cleared them 

 quickly. I hope there will be no question 

 again as to birds eating holly-berries, for 

 the Fieldfares swallowed every one they 

 could find. I kept the gardener busy sweeping 

 the snow, and gave them an immense 

 quantity of food. 



" The poor birds made a good choice in 

 coming here, for so many people fed them, 

 and though there were these vast numbers I 

 heard of comparatively few being seen dead. 

 The Song-Thrushes must have come in thou- 

 sands from the uplands and the north, but 

 the Fieldfares and Redwings came, I believe, 

 across the sea." 



Writing a week later, Mi's. Maitland adds 

 that many Throstles remained, but the 

 Fieldfares and Redwings had gone from the 

 gardens. 



Bird-and-Tree (Arbor Day) Festivals. 



Notwithstanding adverse circumstances, a 

 very large number of successful Bird-and- 

 Tree gatherings have been held, only a few 

 of which can be recorded here. 



The St. Peter's Girls' School, Bom-nemouth, 

 celebrated its double success on February 

 29th. Canon Daldj^ (Vicar) presided, and a 

 most interesting address was given bv Sir 

 Daniel Morris, K.C.M.G., F.L.S., President 

 of the Bournemouth Natural Science Society, 

 who introduced Arbor Day into the West 

 Indies during his sojourn there. He dealt 

 especially' with the value of Trees, and Dr. 



Penrose, F.Z.S., with Birds. Lady Morris 

 presented the Inter-County and Hampshire 

 Shields and prizes. The excellent musical 

 entertainment which followed was repeated 

 the next night for the R.S.P.B. and local 

 Red Cross funds, when £16 was realised. 



Newburgh School, first winners of the 

 Lancashire Shield, marked the day by 

 planting an ash-tree to the singing of the 

 Planting Hymn, and the Shield and prizes 

 were presented by the Vicar (Rev. C. Harris). 



For St. John's Cirls' School, Keswick, an 

 extra verse to the Planting Hymn was written 



