123 



C^vntti^ologtcal Notes fvom IScvbPstjivc fov 

 tt)c ¥cav 1906. 



By THE Rev. Francis C. R. Jourdain, M.A., M.B.O.U. 



N January 19th Mr. G. M. Bond saw a drake Scoter, 

 Ocdemia nigra (L.), fly over the mad between 

 Ashburne and Hanging Bridge as he was driving 

 home from Ashburne. It was so close to him that 

 he had every opportunity of identifying it, and he is, moreover, 

 familiar with the appearance of the bird, having in his 

 possession another drake which was shot within a mile of the 

 spot on November 4th, 1904. 



Mr. J. Henderson came across a very large flock of Red- 

 polls on January 29th in the Dove Valley, near Okeover — at 

 least a hundred in number. The weather was mild, and the 

 Thrushes, Mistle Thurshes and Hedge Sparrows could be 

 heard singing in all directions. On February 8th the hedge- 

 rows near Osmaston were covered with Fieldfares in the 

 morning, and in the afternoon great flocks passed over Clifton 

 in a westerly direction. Next day we had about four inches 

 of snow, which, however, did not stay long. 



Herons have been much more numerous during the last year or 

 two in the Dove and Manifold Valleys. It is quite a common 

 thing to see five or six on the wing at the same time, and as 

 they were reported to be nesting in a wood not far off, I 

 walked up the river on February 20th to the place, and again 

 later in the year, but could find no trace of nests, and am 

 inclined to think that they come across the hills from the 

 Churnet Valley, where a small heronry has been established 

 of late years. 



