228 Notes on the Birds of a Ballast Pit. 
wandering parties in the neighbourhood of the city. The 
Common Gull (Iarus canus) which I have from time to time seen 
on the ploughed fields of Lincolnshire in Spring (though never in 
such large numbers as the Black-headed gulls), are only loiterers 
on the way to nesting haunts in Scotland; Ihave not noticed 
them on the Ballast Pit, but on September 16th, 1g01, an immature 
example of some large species of gull, probably a Herring Gull 
was flapping lazily over the water on the look out for a meal. 
On August 30th, 1902, I saw animmature Black Tern busily 
engaged in fishing, an interesting visitor to ancestral haunts. It is 
not unusual to see one or two Herons, usually in Autumn or Winter, 
standing like statues in the shallow water, and Peewits crowd in 
hundreds on the exposed banks of mud and sand, particularly at 
the end of Summer. Numbers of this species, together with 
several pairs of Snipe and a pair or two of Ieedshanks, nest in the 
rushy fields and marsh places in the vicinity of the Ballast Pit, 
and so the ‘“‘ scape-scape”’ of the fused snipe or the clear whistle 
of the Redshank may often be heard over the water, as the birds 
are startled from their feeding grounds. I have noticed that in 
Winter the large flocks of Peewits are often attended by a few 
Golden Plovers, which owing to their quicker flight usually lead 
the flock when on the wing. On October 27th, 1905, a party of 
15 Dunlins joined the Autumn visitors to the lake, and I watched | 
them through my glasses, running nimbly about at the water’s 
edge, as they do on the sea-shore. Doubtless many other species 
of wading birds make short stays at such a tempting spot during” 
the periods of the Spring and Autumn migrations. I have 
recognised the cries of Curlews, Sandpipers and other waders 
which were flying over Lincoln on dark foggy nights, and it is — 
most probable that many of these make short stays in the 
neighbourhood during their wanderings. 
On several occasions I have seen little parties of Goldfinches _ 
feeding with other birds such as Linnets and Greenfinches, on the 
seeds of the various flowers and plants on the banks of the water. 
In Summer Reed Warblers may be noticed among the tall rushes — 
near the water’s edge, and so probably a search would reveal the 
