Manchester Memoirs, Vol. Iviii. (1914), No. 9, 7 



confines of the mere, thus considerably more than a mile 

 in length. When the light is fast fading the birds literally 

 rain down into the reeds, and at once there begins a 

 twitter of thousands of voices, which can be heard at a 

 great distance. 



The effect of so large a number of birds resting on the 

 withered autumnal reeds is that many of these are broken 

 down, and later in the season the flocks frequently move 

 to the more sheltered parts of the surrounding coverts. 

 The deposits of droppings by the roosting birds must 

 have cultivating influence upon the vegetation, and may 

 also have effect upon the aquatic fauna of the reed-beds. 

 In sandy gulleries the guano enriches the soil and induces 

 the growth of nettles, chenopodiums, and other rank- 

 growing plants. 



Both the Les- 

 Carduelis cannabinncannabiiia{lJ\nr\dieus). ser Redpoll 



and the Lin- 

 net nest in the Gale Bog, but we have not thought fit to 

 include all and every bird which uses this spot for nidifi- 

 cation. The Linnet, however, occasionally, at any rate, 

 roosts in the willows when on migration, both in autumn 

 and spring Mr. Boyd has seen many in September and 

 several in spring, suggesting that passing flocks make use 

 of the shelter and food supplied by the marsh. 



Redpolls and more 

 Emberisa schoeniclus Linnaeus. occasionally Siskins 



are mere-side visit- 

 ing finches, but the attraction is the seeds of the alders 

 and birches, and these birds need not be considered. The 

 Reed Bunting, however, in addition to using the reeds for 

 roosting purposes when flocks are arriving in early spring, 

 is a regular nesting species in the aquatic vegetation. 

 At Rostherne, the favoured nesting sites are in the clumps 



