THE LAST WEEK IN MARCH 17 
that relieved the sombre shades were the 
yellow of the coltsfoot almost in bloom (the 
leaf follows the flower), a touch here and 
there of golden gorse, and a bright greenish- 
yellow tinge upon the palm willow, which 
was as yet only swollen in the bud. The 
shadows of some tall alders, intensified by 
the weak sun, were cast at the feet of the 
trees on the surface of the still water. The 
dipping of our oars as we passed broke the 
surface into gentle ripplets, which caused 
what would otherwise have been sharp, 
silhouetted images to appear like so many 
huge wriggling serpents. As we approached 
Swan Island we saw a pair of coot—new 
birds to us here—swimming lazily about, 
and we much hoped that we should find their 
nest if they were on matrimony bent. We 
were not disappointed, as will be shown fur- 
ther on. Our old friends the carrion crows 
were not on this island. But we made 
further acquaintance with these interesting 
birds later in the season (see pp. 68-74). We 
heard and saw the wood-pigeons of last year 
B.N.—Il. C 
