51 



sound of water is all the more refreshing. Peering cautiously 

 over the high banks of the pond at Heasandford, I pause for 

 a few minutes to sUently watch the movements of the water- 

 fowl. They are waiy birds, and to see them in their wild 

 state you must be yourself unseen. Although in every sense 

 a waterbird and a good swimmer and diver, the water-hen 

 is not web-footed like the coot and dabchick. I never saw 

 the latter in Lancashire, but one summer's evening, when 

 bathing in the Severn, I took a dive in at one side of the 

 river and came up at the opposite side close by a bed of long 

 reeds when, to my astonishment, I found myself surrounded 

 by a dozen little fluffy creatures swimming on the surface, and 

 greatly astonished and excited they were at my impertinence. 

 They were too young to be identified by their plumage, but, 

 taking one in my hand, I recognised the strange-looking feet, 

 like minature horse chestnut leaves, which proved them to be 

 either the coot or the dabchick, but probably the latter. The 

 corncrake is veiy common around Burnley, but being such a shy 

 bird is seldom seen. About a month ago I came upon one sud- 

 denly at the turning of a lane a few miles beyond Clitheroe. 



On the same jom'ney I saw several specimens of the heron, 

 and the kingfisher, which may both be seen any day in summer 

 on the Ribble and the Hodder. Sitting on the banks of the 

 former, one day last summer I was surprised at the boldness and 

 apparent tameness of a kingfisher which kept alighting on a 

 stone in the river in front of me ; happening to look down at the 

 shingle below where I sat I saw some broken egg-shells, which 

 having hatched out had been ejected from a hole in the bank 

 where I was sitting and dangling my heels ; the bu'd's tameness 

 was thus accounted for by the fact that she wanted to enter her 

 nest, but could not whilst I mounted guard over it. The air 

 to-day is perfectly still, and the trees are filled with the hum of 

 insects' wings ; if you stand and listen you imagine there must 

 be millions of them, and as you look up and see them swarming 

 around the tree tops you feel sure of it. Very often you will find 

 the tree to be a sycamore covered with the sweet sticky substance 

 exuded by the common green aphides. The flies have been 

 feasting on this and now they are having a grand ball ; dancing 

 and providing the music at the same time. Often on a day Uke 

 this you may see a column of gnats or midges, as they are 

 called, dancing in the air in thousands forming a column two or 

 three yards long by half a yard in diameter. 



Although it is broad daylight, and the hot hour of noon, the 

 rabbits are out feeding in considerable numbers ; possibly it is 

 hot in their burrows and the green herbage is refreshing to them. 

 I came upon them suddenly one day, whUst chasing a sandpiper, 

 they had crossed the brook to nibble in the fields and my sudden 



