47 
THE BIRDS OF OUR MARSHES. 
By J. N. ROBINSON, oF Carco, 
(Read before the Carlisle Society. ) 
_ Tue scope of the present paper is intended to furnish a brief 
survey of the avifauna of Burgh and Rockliffe Salt Marshes, 
~ including an area of several thousand acres of pasture land, drained . 
by numerous winding creeks which frequently mislead strangers, 
and occasionally engulf unfortunate cattle in their treacherous 
bottoms. These marshes are respectively situated upon the right 
and left banks of the river Eden, but are flanked by the united 
waters of Esk and Eden. The edges of Burgh Marsh undergo 
constant demolition from the tide, which is at present increasing 
the area of Rockliffe Marsh. Both marshes lie within an easy 
distance of my home, and have consequently afforded me very 
“many opportunities of studying their bird-life. 
The marshes are devoid of any but the scantiest covert, and 
though stray migrants occasionally shelter in the drier creeks in 
stormy weather, yet in the main such insectivorous birds as visit 
the district are forced to search for food and shelter in the hedges 
and plantations at some distance from the marshes—of course 
‘there are exceptions. The Wheatear (Saxicola ananthe), for 
example, visits the edges of the marsh abutting on the water both 
in spring and autumn; the Dipper (C. aguaticus) occasionally 
appears at the mouth of the Eden during the first months of 
‘winter; the Pied Wagtail (JZ. /ugubris) secretes her nest among 
