26 Coward, Faunal Survey of Rostherne Mere. 



two or three occasions caught it by hand. On Februar3i. 

 2 1 St, 1902, we found one in the brook which had been 

 choked when attempting to swallow a Bullhead, Coitus 

 gobio ; the spines on the gill-covers of the fish had been 

 driven into the flesh at the sides of the bird's gape. This 

 bird had been feeding on Bythinia tentaculata and beetle 

 larvae. 



The Great Northern Diver 

 Gavia z;;/;«^r(Brunnich). is an occasional winter 



visitor. There is a specimen 

 at Tatton Hall which was shot at Rostherne " about forty 

 years ago." It had been on the mere for some time. On 

 January 8th, 1902, we saw one on the mere; it was 

 feeding busily, and during one of its dives it was more 

 than three minutes below the water. Another frequented 

 Rostherne for over two weeks in December, 191 1 ; we saw 

 it first on the lOth and last on the 26th. 



There was an 

 Haeinatopus ostralegus Linnaeus. Oystercatcher at 



Rostherne on May 

 loth, 1914. 



The Golden Plover 

 Charadrius apricarius Linnaeus, is a common autumn 



and winter visitor to 

 the fields in the neighbourhood of Rostherne, and on two 

 or three occasions we have seen flocks or a few odd birds 

 feeding with the Lapwings on the edge of the mere. 



Lapwings, sometimes in 

 Vane//us vane//us (hinnaeus). large numbers, feed in 



the fields which border 

 the mere, where also many pairs nest, and frequently 

 large numbers of birds may be seen feeding on the sandy 

 margins or spits of sand at the mouths of the inflow 

 brooks. 



