98 



Bird Notes and News 



1897, educated at Eton and Sandhurst, and 

 received his commission last October. 



Members of the Society will sympathise 

 deeply with Mr. J. R. B. Masefield, of 

 Rosehill, Cheadle, Staffs., a member of its 

 Council, on the loss of his eldest son, 

 Second-Lieut, (temp. Captain) Charles J. B. 

 Masefield, l/5th North Staffordshire Regi- 

 ment. He was wounded in action on 

 July 1st, but not until Sept. 5th was it 

 known that he had died the followmg day. 



a prisoner in German hands. Captain 

 Masefield, who had made already a reputa- 

 tion in literary and in local archaeological 

 circles, joined the colours two years ago, 

 and in the last fist of honours was awarded 

 the Military Cross for " conspicuous gallantry 

 and good leadership " in a successful raid 

 on enemy trenches, when he "led his 

 company with great dash and skm." His 

 pubHshed works include two volumes of 

 poems and the " Little Guide to Stafford- 

 shire." 



Spring (19 1 7) in Devon and Cornwall. 



By H. p. WILKES. 



All England is lovely in springtime, and 

 Devon and Cornw^all are no exception, 

 for in spite of the late spring and bitter 

 winds, the birds were not as late in breeding 

 as might be supposed. The spot in Cornwall 

 where these notes were written is a wonderful 

 place for our feathered friends. Along the 

 cliffs the Herring Gull nests in as great 

 numbers as anywhere on the south coast. 

 Three coves, more or less, constitute the 

 gullery, and with the sea flashing out its 

 wonderful sapphire, the brilliance of the 

 gulls' white wings matching with the fleecy 

 clouds sailing above, and the fresh green 

 of spring upon the cliffs, the picture is 

 complete. There are a few pairs of the 

 Lesser Black-backed Gull and also of the 

 Greater Black-back, but I never found 

 the nests of the latter, though they must 

 nest along this coast. A Buzzard was 

 nesting on the cliffs, but the locality must 

 remain unnamed for obvious reasons. It 

 built a most elaborate nest, but finally 

 laid its eggs on a bare ledge quite close, 

 with no pretence at a nest ! A good many 

 pairs of Kestrels were to be seen, but I 

 found only one nest — with five eggs. It 

 was remarkable that the Kestrels always 

 seemed to be on the same cliffs as the semi- 

 wild Rock-Dove, yet neither birds nor 

 young of the latter species were ever 

 touched ; in fact on one occasion a Kestrel 

 was seen sitting within a foot of a Rock-Dove 



on the same ledge of rock. The Rock- 

 Pipits are not nearly so common here as 

 on the Dorsetshire coast. 



A little inland there is an extensive marsh 

 covered with tall osier bushes. Here there 

 are numberless pairs of Sedge Warblers and 

 Chiffchaffs, though in the swampy under- 

 growth their nests are very diificult to find. 

 Several pairs of Jays and Magpies breed in the 

 taller osiers, in addition to Moorhen, MaUard, 

 and Teal. There was a report of a Marsh- 

 Warbler having been seen ; more likely a 

 mistaken Reed-Warbler ! I never saw any 

 Coot or Grebes ; the undergrowth is too 

 thick, no doubt. I came upon a brood of 

 eight Marsh-Tits one evening. Several pairs 

 of Grey Wagtails and a pair of Kingfishers 

 nest along the banks of a little stream 

 running through the marsh, and probably 

 a pair of Dippers. Bunting are very well 

 represented, aU four of the commoner 

 species being found ; three nests of the 

 Yellow Hammer were discovered within 

 half a mile. The Sedge Warblers amved 

 about May 1st, but the Chiffchaff, as usual, 

 a great deal earlier. I have neither seen 

 nor heard the Reed-Warbler, which is so 

 local in Cornwall. The recent growth of 

 plantations has increased the range of the 

 Wfllow-Warbler : there are a good many 

 round here, and of the five nests of that 

 family, Phylloscopus, I found, three were 

 Wfllow-Warblers' and two Chiffchaffs'. The 



