42 



Bird Notes and News 



by the Society for preserving Britain's rare 

 birds, and letters of enquiry have been 

 received from previous visitors who are now 

 standing high in the Service. The absence, 

 in uniform, of young men of the villages has 

 perhaps been no bad thing for the birds ; 

 and coast regions on which the collector 

 casts longing eyes have been rendered 

 inaccessible to the public. 



Of the rare and interesting species for 

 whose benefit the Watchers' Fund is especi- 

 ally organised, particularly good news has 

 come in of Terns, Kentish Plovers, Shelducks, 

 Phalaropes, Choughs, Ravens, and Great 

 Skuas. The nestmg of the Kentish Plover 

 at Dungeness was delayed by the weather, 

 but by July there were more birds than for 

 years past ; while the Norfolk Plovers, and 

 sea-birds and waders generally, brought 

 off good broods. On Brean Down, their 

 chief breeding-place in England, the Shel- 

 ducks grow more numerous. Seeing that 

 one pair are reported to have hatched out 

 twenty-two eggs, this will hardly be wondered 

 at ; but it is noted that, while the colony 

 at the Down increases, that on the neigh- 

 bouring Warren seems to decrease and is 

 now a very small one, indicating that the 

 birds have discovered where they are safest. 

 Coast Watchers support the statement of 

 the R.S.P.B. Watchers as to the steady 

 increase of the Cornish Choughs ; they have 

 become " quite plentiful to what they used 

 to be " on the grand Tintagel rocks, where 

 Peregrines and Buzzards have also done 

 well ; and as for Owls, writes the Watcher, 

 " I never knew so many about, they perch 

 on our window-sills and nest quite near the 

 house." In the Orkney area, " Phalaropes 

 seem increasing in numbers every season, 

 and a great many different kinds of birds 

 hatched off, all seem getting more plentiful." 

 The news of the Phalaropes is especially 



welcome, as these charming birds, Ruskin's 

 " Arctic fairies," are far too few in number. 

 From several stations in Shetland the tenour 

 of the reports is similar. In the words of one 

 Watcher, " No eggs have been taken thia 

 season ; the young men are away to the 

 war, and for the young lads and boys I soon 

 put them away. The Fulmar and all the 

 others are doing well. I have never seen the 

 like of what the birds is in ... . thia 

 season." 



Ravens and Buzzards have in most cases 

 reared their young without let or hindrance. 

 In one instance a pair of Buzzards took 

 possession of a Raven's old nest, evidently 

 after a fight for possession. In the Shetlands 

 the cold proved very trying for Golden 

 Plovers, Ring-Plovers, and Wheatears, and 

 the Divers lost a large proportion of theif 

 eggs, which were taken by some winged or 

 four-footed marauder. 



It has already been mentioned in Bird 

 Notes and News that the Gannet has thia 

 year nested for the first time at Noss. At 

 least three pairs hatched out young. The 

 Little Owl, an alien which is continually 

 extending its range, has made a first appear- 

 ance on Brean Down. On one of the Cumber- 

 land lakes the Redshank, unknown there 

 before, has brought up a family. The Great 

 Skua has also spread to a new district. 



Other species benefiting by the Watchers' 

 care include Harrier, Merlin, Heron, Green 

 and other Plovers, Eider Duck, Wigeon, 

 Pintail, Shoveller, and other Ducks, and a 

 variety of others, including many commoner 

 but not necessarily less delightful birds 

 that nest on and about the Watched areas. 



Undoubtedly the success which haa 

 attended the work of the Watchers' Com- 

 mittee results from the great care taken In 

 the appointment of Watchers, and the good 

 fortune the Society has had in retaining the 



