Bird Notes and News 



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St. Faith's, Fakenham, Ketteringhara, Mattis- 

 hall, Thetford, Toft Monks, Toftwood, East 

 Tuddenham, Brockdish, Feltwell, Blickling, 

 Sprowston and Elsing. A high total of marks 

 for very good and promising papers is also 

 secured by Castle Rising, Croxton, Sporle 

 and Topcroft, who head the list of those 

 Highly Commended. 



NORTHAMPTONSHIRE 



The general improvement in the Northants 

 essays, noted last year, is again very marked. 

 The only check on the satisfaction the Judges 

 feel in noting this conspicuous rise in the 

 average merit lies in the fact that the number 

 of competing Teams is smaller than in some 

 previous years ; therefore, it may be, to some 

 extent, that less promising and less interested 

 Schools have dropped out. This would be 

 most regrettable, as with patience and per- 

 severance any Team may quickly improve 

 provided the children once acquire love for 

 wild life and for outdoor observation of it. 

 There are, on the other hand, some distinctly 

 promising newcomers. The Shield reverts 

 to the Victoria School, Wellingborough, where 

 the young naturalists watch and note with 

 zealous and sympathetic enthusiasm. Heming- 

 ton and the Girls' Team of All Saints, Welling- 

 borough, must be bracketed for the second 

 place, and it was difl&cult to relegate Middleton 

 Cheney to the third. The winners of the 

 " Excellent " distinction are Culworth, Welton, 

 Maidford, Wellingborough (All Saints' Boys), 

 Greatworth, and Sywell. The papers gain 

 much more character and vigour as the Teams 

 become more at home in the work ; and the 

 list of Birds studied is greatly extended, 

 without counting the canary and parrot put 

 forward by one Team ! 



SOMERSET 



As usual in these later years, Somerset does 

 well enough to give assurance that with greater 

 industry and determination it could do far 

 better. The work is all pleasant outdoor 

 work, the observation good (bolstered up with 

 a little cramming here and there), the writing 

 is easy and natural, and the Birds and Trees 

 are well chosen. No one School stands out 

 pre-eminently, which is generally a healthy 

 sign, and certainly none is conspicuously 

 poor. Two new competitors, East Mark and 

 South Perrott, take at once a good place. 

 There are again fresh and interesting papers 

 from Chillington, winner of the Shield last 

 year ; but the award goes this time to North 



Perrott, where there are some very keen little 

 observers, and papers on the Heron and Brown 

 Owl win special commendation. A very good 

 batch of essays, bright and original, conies 

 also from Norton Fitzwarren's young Team, 

 one member ot which is only eight ; and 

 Winsham and Cliedington (the latter a regular 

 migrant to the Competition from over the 

 Dorset border) show a nice feeling for nature 

 and a commendable amount of knowledge. 



WARWICKSHIRE 



It was remarked last year that the Warwick- 

 shire work was being reinforced and stifiened 

 to a noteworthy extent by entries from Schools 

 within the educational boundary of Birmingham. 

 Still more markedly is this the case in 1922, 

 and the time may come when Birmingham 

 will need a Shield of its own. Five City Teams 

 enter the lists, and to judge by their essays 

 there is no difficulty in finding excellent 

 subjects for study within the wide limits of 

 the Midland Metropolis. Hall Green and 

 Erdington make secure the reputation they 

 gained in 1921, but the most keenly observant 

 papers come from Stirchley Street, a new 

 entrant which shares second place with an old 

 friend, Mancetter. The Shield is won by the 

 charmingly spontaneous essays from Leicester 

 Road Council School, Bedworth. Though 

 the competitors are younger than the average, 

 there is no doubt as to the adjudication of 

 the award. Curiously enough, some of the 

 village schools rely far more on books and other 

 second-hand material than do the borough 

 boys and girls ; but good personal efforts to 

 attain first-hand knowledge are conspicuous 

 in essays from Brinklow, Glascote, Astley, 

 Rowington and Solihull. Marston Green (a 

 new competitor), Temple Grafton and Bintou 

 do best with Trees, Great Alne with Birds. 



OPEN CLASS 



It was the intention of the Society to add a 

 Surrey Challenge Shield to the list this year ; but 

 since of all the schools which entered teams, only 

 four kept up the work and sent in essays, such 

 an award must obviously stand over until earned 

 by a considerably stronger competition. The 

 best work comes from the girls of Ingram Road 

 School, Thornton Heath, a great suburb thus 

 exhibiting more knowledge and love of nature 

 than all the bird-haunted regions round Dorking 

 or Haslemere. It does so well as to gain a 

 Certificate, Shainley Green coming second ; a 

 Redhill School (Frenches Road) and Capel 



