23 



intruders away from their neighbourhood, the larger bird, when 

 disturbed in her nursery duties, will leave her offspring to their 

 fate with apparent unconcern. 



Of the Ardeidae, only the Common Heron seems to demand 

 passing notice. In the evenings especially, these birds love to 

 haunt the shallow edges of lakes, or the pools of silent glens, 

 in pursuit of fish ; and expert fishers they doubtless are. Of 

 heronries we have but few local examples; those in Wythope 

 Woods and at Greystoke Castle being the only stations within my 

 immediate district. Old works on Natural History tell us that a 

 breeding establishment of these birds once existed at Yew-crag in 

 Gowbarrow; — certainly not within living memory has this been the 

 case, yet the mistake continues to be perpetuated. 



Of the Scolopacidse, the Woodcock stands first in the list. In 

 my early days, instances of their breeding in this part of England 

 were extremely rare. I am happy to think the number of native 

 born "longbills" is on the increase. I never until last spring was 

 fortunate enough to make the bird's acquaintance in nesting time. 

 One evening, as I chanced to pass through the grounds at Gow- 

 barrow, I was surprised by the notes of a bird flying over head 

 close to the tops of the trees, with whose pecuUar cry I was not 

 famihar. With a low "wisp-wisp-wisp — wap-wap-wap," again and 

 again repeated, it kept flying hither and thither over my head, still 

 keeping apparently to the same line, and never going farther away 

 than from one hundred and fifty to two hundred yards. The bird 

 I found to be a woodcock, but whether he was simply serenading 

 his mate, or warning her of the approach of danger, I cannot 

 undertake to decide. The Common Snipe breeds in boggy upland 

 pastures, sometimes in considerable plenty. Let me say a word or 

 two of the Common Sandpiper — "Wilhe-lilter" of our dalesmen. 

 I wonder if it ever fell to the lot of any of my bachelor friends here 

 to witness the courtship manoeuvres of this interesting bird. How 

 he circles around his mate, uttering the most pleasing notes — 

 displaying his plumage — hopping and dancing about in every most 

 captivating altitude, literally dancing to his own pipes. If not, 

 they have a lesson yet to learn that might be of service to them in 



