4 BIRDS OF CHESHIRE. 
Combermere, Bar Mere, and Marbury Mere in the 
south; and Oakmere, Pettypool, and Oulton in the 
Delamere Forest district. ‘The seclusion afforded by 
their position, fringed as they frequently are with dense 
reed-beds, and situated within extensive demesnes, 
coupled with the fact that they abound in fish and 
support a varied and luxuriant aquatic vegetation, 
makes the meres the resort of many interesting birds 
during the breeding season. They are pre-eminently 
the home of the Great Crested Grebe, Coot, and Reed 
Warbler. If a beach or sand-spit be present, one 
or two pairs of Common Sandpipers are sure to be 
met with; whilst the Mallard, Kingfisher, and Heron, 
although occurring as plentifully in other situations, 
find here the conditions suited to their diverse re- 
quirements. In stormy weather the meres are visited 
by Gulls, Terns, and an occasional Cormorant; and 
during the winter months large flocks of wildfowl of 
various species may be seen feeding or sleeping on 
their surface. Besides the meres, there are many 
smaller lakes or pools, and in most places nearly every 
large field contains one or more ponds or marl-pits. 
These ‘pits, as they are always called, were formerly 
the sole source of manure supply for the permanent 
pastures, but the advance in the manufacture of arti- 
ficial manures has caused them to be: disused, and 
now they are choked with vegetation. The Moorhen 
builds amongst their flags and rushes, and the Sedge 
Warbler and Reed Bunting sing in the rank herbage 
and bushes that clothe their margins. The Little 
Grebe, comparatively rare on the meres, occasionally 
nests on these pits, provided the situation is secluded 
and the water fairly open. 
With the exception of Northwich (pop. 15,000), the 
