WITH THE BIRDS IN WALES 117 



flushing her I found the remains of several long- 

 tailed field voles. I then went right across the 

 moors ; but beyond a few Curlews, Peewits, 

 Meadow Pipits and Skylarks, saw little bird life. 

 After going some four miles I found a Carrion 

 Crow's nest in a thorn hedge, only some ten feet 

 from the ground. It was a new one too, but did 

 not contain eggs. The Crows had doubtless made 

 their nest in such an easy situation for want of a 

 more suitable one. It now became bitterly cold, 

 and sleeted continuously ; but making a long cir- 

 cuit of the barren moorland, I at length reached 

 another watershed, where in some rough fields I 

 was very close to some Curlews' nests, but I did 

 not spend much time over them. On the way back, 

 when crossing a morass in the hills, I was delighted 

 to see a bunch of some seventy or eighty Golden 

 Plover, a pair of Red Grouse as well as some 

 Peewits and Curlews, all together, affording a 

 pleasing admixture of bird life. 



I think probably that a pair or two of Golden 

 Plover will nest just here, though I am assured 

 that hitherto they never have done so. I was away 

 nearly six hours, but the Brown Owl had not 

 returned to her young, which were making peculiar 

 noises to themselves. I was then sorry that I had 

 flushed the old Owl, for the wind came rushing down 

 the hillside and entering a chink in the stump, must 

 have made these tiny Owlets uncomfortable. They 

 are still blind, I notice. In the afternoon I went to 

 L. wood to look up the Buzzards and Herons. 

 Reached the wood after an hour's ride. Both 



