42 FIRST WEEK IN APRIL 
nest, with thirteen eggs and well lined with 
down; also a_ blackbird’s nest ready for 
the clutch. We noticed that the pigeons 
were very busy, and had partly built their 
nests. We had marked a Tree Pipit, and 
heard him uttering his ‘¢see, tsee, tsee, tsit’ 
each time he reached a new perch. And the 
chirruping chaffinches were here and there, 
they too having arrived upon the scene. 
But there was no cuckoo yet—that harbinger 
of spring—though Ted had heard and seen 
one the week before, on March 25, in Kent. 
He had actually also seen and heard a 
nightingale the same day in that locality. 
These were very early arrivals. 
This had been a day without a single 
photograph, but of much interest to us 
nevertheless. I took good care on reaching 
home to thoroughly dry the camera and 
slides. 
