216 



THE DOTTEEEL. 



Parish. 



Cock- 



burns- 

 path — 

 continued. 



Source of infor- 

 mation, and date 

 when obtained. 



J. Hardy, Esq., 

 Oldcambus, 

 1886. 



Notes. 



the shooters, who came from great dis- 

 tances to obtain them. There were no 

 gamekeepers then in the vicinity. 

 1875. — Dotterels, although in less numbers 

 than formerly, still frequent the heights 

 of most of the upland farms in the east of 

 Berwickshire bordering the moors. Their 

 favourite resort is old lea ploughed up, 

 where there are clods and stones to pro- 

 tect the glittering beetles that constitute 

 their favourite food. They arrive about 

 the 6th or 7th of May. The flocks are 

 never large, and at first are easily ap- 

 proached. They have now become less 

 wary since they were not interfered with. 

 They were once numerous at Penman- 

 shiel, in the heights above Redheugh, 

 Howpark, and Renton Bell. Again, in 

 the west, they frequented Ecclaw Hill, 

 Blackburn Mill, and some of the high 

 farms round Abbey St. Bathans. About 

 two years since a small returning party 

 of six or seven birds appeared in autumn 

 on Redheugh Hill, out of which two brace 

 were shot. They appeared on Redheugh 

 Hill on the 15th of May 1879. In a letter 

 to me, dated Oldcambus, 19th October 

 1882, Mr. Hardy says : " The facts about 

 the Dotterel visiting us this year are 

 these : William M 'Queen, a mason, who 

 originally came from Lauderdale, and 

 knows the bird, has been ])uilding stone 

 dykes for two or three springs on Red- 

 heugh and Dowlaw farms near the moors, 

 and I get the earliest intelligence from 

 him. This year he both heard and saw 

 a small flock near Dowlaw on the 12th of 

 April. On the 21st of April John Hay, 

 the rabbit-catcher and gamekeeper here, 

 being in search of Lapwing eggs on a high- 

 lying field near the moor edge, below what 

 is called ' The Big Blake Law,' raised a 

 large flock of Dotterels — between forty 

 and fifty — but when he went back the 

 next week they were gone." The above 

 information was received on the 25th of 

 April. They were thus about a fortnight 

 or three weeks earlier than usual. Last 

 year they were heard near Dowlaw on 

 the 27th of April. Seven birds were seen 

 on 10th May, they still remained on 20th 

 May, and one was seen on 23i'd May. 



