Manchester Memoirs, Vol. Iviii. (1914), No. 0. 17 



The Canada 

 Bra}ita canadensis canadensis (Linnaeus). Goose, a 1- 



though origi- 

 nally an introduced bird, is now so firmly established as 

 a permanent resident that it must be considered as an 

 important member of the avian fauna. One or two 

 pairs nest in most springs on the shores of Rostherne, 

 but it is in autumn and winter, when gregarious and 

 restless, that it is most noticeable. At one time flocks of 

 from 200 to 300 Canadas might be seen on the meres or 

 passing from water to water, but early in the present 

 century a succession of " bad " years considerably reduced 

 the numbers. Lately, however, there has been a rally, and 

 some fair-sized parties have visited Rostherne ; seventy, 

 eighty and upwards of a hundred birds have occasionally 

 been counted. These Canadas are very wild and take 

 wing at the approach of a boat with loud clanging cries, 

 but during the moult they will occasionally swim to the 

 side and partially conceal themselves amongst the alders 

 and willows. 



Probably the rare visits 

 Tadorna tadorna (Linnaeus), of the Sheld-duck to 



Rostherne are incidents 

 of recent years only, for the species has increased enor- 

 mously in Cheshire, as in other parts of the country. At 

 one time the bird was seldom met with as a nesting 

 species at any distance from salt water, but novv-a-days it 

 nests regularly in warrens in inland localities, and one of 

 the earliest spots to be selected was the sandy bank of 

 Oakmere. The increase of the Sheld-duck as a nesting 

 species on the Mersey Estuary and Ship Canal banks no 

 doubt accounts for the wanderings of birds in search of 

 suitable nesting spots and feeding grounds round the 

 Cheshire meres, and the bird is a more frequent visitor to 



