48 MID-APRIL 
in a week or so, and you will doubtless be 
rewarded by a pleasant sight. But be 
careful not to ‘disturb ~ the’ Twigs; nen 
even the leaves. near by, lest “the” bids 
forsake the nest and build elsewhere, some- 
where that may not be easy to find. And 
specially avoid putting your fingers into the 
nest to feel the eggs—your touch will be very 
perceptible to the keen senses of the birds. 
We went to Pochard Island, hoping to find 
fresh developments. On the way we started 
a solitary Wheatear. We knew him at once 
by his size and colour; he is not unlike a 
sparrow or a lark, but the flight is not the 
same, and the tail shows white from behind. 
No grebe, no tufted duck and no coot 
this time, but in their place two geese swim- 
ming about in stately style. As we rowed 
up one of them (evidently the male by its 
larger size, pronounced plumage and troubled 
behaviour) flew a hundred yards away at 
once. The female, however, could not get 
off the water or would speedily have joined 
her mate; she had difficulty in even swim- 
