136 Among the Birds in Northern Shires. 



information that it was a " Bigr Hawk's" nest. 

 Tired and weary as we were, but incited by the 

 possibihty of finding some hitherto unknown eggs, 

 we set to work to chmb the mast-Hke trunk for some 

 sixty feet. We can recall even now our frequent 

 pauses for breath as we slowly approached the spot; 

 how the nest seemed to get larger and larger as each 

 succeeding branch was passed; and then how the big 

 brown bird slipped off with a flutter that made our 

 heart beat fast with anticipation; and how finally we 

 reached the forking: limbs where the nest was built, 

 and placed our arm ov^er the rim of sticks and felt 

 the three warm eggs lying on the smooth lining. 

 We climbed no higher, but transferring the precious 

 eggs to our hat, and encouraged by the old rascal 

 below — who would not have climbed so high for all 

 the eggs in Christendom — we got safely down. 

 There was some outcry afterwards from the keepers 

 respecting the robbing of this nest, for they had 

 intended to trap the old birds, but we kept discreetly 

 silent. During a long residence in the neighbour- 

 hood we never saw or heard of another nest of this 

 Buzzard. 



Notwithstanding persecution, the Kestrel and the 

 Sparrow-hawk happily can still be regarded as fairly 

 common birds in all these woodlands. Trapping 

 and shooting do their best each year to hasten on 

 their extermination, but fortunately both birds breed 



