THE COMMON HERON. 



45 



Parish. 



Edrom. 



Cockbumspath. 



Hutton. 



Situation of Heronry and 

 Approximate Number of Nests. 



In 1825, when I was a boy at 

 school in Duns, there was a Heronry 

 of about 12 nests at Nesbit, all 

 clustered about one spot, and several 

 nests on one tree — great nests they 

 were, double the size of Rooks' nests. 

 We used to see the Herons' legs 

 sticking out over the edges of the 

 nests when the old birds were hatch- 

 ing. The trees on which the Herons 

 built stood to the south and west of 

 Nesbit House. 



In Dunglass Dean, besides the tall 

 trees near the Belvidere on the East- 

 Lothian side, where the Herons 

 built when I was a boy, it is I'e- 

 2)orted they afterwards built near 

 the Saltheugh, on the Berwickshire 

 side. They have deserted both 

 places long since. 



Three years ago, on a fiat spot 

 among dangerously steep rocks near 

 Siccar Point, a Heron's nest was 

 found. The young ones had been 

 deserted after being nearly fully 

 grown. The nest was made of large 

 sticks, and had many fish - bones 

 about it. 



There used to be 2 or 3 Herons' 

 nests on some old trees having tlieir 

 tops covered with ivy near Clarabad 

 Damhead about twenty - five years 

 since. Tlie trees were blown down 

 some time ago. 



Tliere is an old Heronry Wood at 

 Paxton, which formerly consisted 

 of lofty spruce and silver fir-trees, 

 growing in a dean near the Tweed, 

 immediately to the west of Paxton 

 House. The most of the tall silver 

 firs have been blown down, and only 

 a few giants now remain, one of 

 which is about 110 feet in height. 

 It is said that Herons at one time 

 nested on the tall silver firs — hence 

 the name of the wood. About 1S69 

 several young Herons were confined 

 in a wire-netted enclosure below 

 the trees for about a year and a half 

 for the purpose of inducing them 

 to stay and build their nests on 

 the remaining high trees, but on 

 getting their liberty they flew away 

 and did not return. 



Name and Address 

 OF Reporter. 



Jolin Wilson of 

 Welnage, Duns, 

 July 25th, 1884. 



James Hardy, 

 Oldcambus, 

 Cockbumspath. 

 —JUS. ^lotes, 

 dated August 

 8th, 1877. 



James Hardy, 

 Oldcambus, 

 Cockbumspath, 

 in Hist. Ber. 

 Nat. Club 

 (1875), vol. iii. 

 p. 510. 



W. Compton- 

 Lundieof Spital, 

 Spital House, 

 Berwick-ou- 

 Tweed, May 3rd, 

 1887. 



The Author. 



