122 BIRD LIFE IN WILD WALES 



together in mobbing it. Just now I noticed a pair 

 of Swifts, the first of the season ; and this I may 

 remark is a decidedly early date for them ; as I 

 well remember that when I was at Winchester 

 they seldom put in an appearance before April 3<Dth 

 or May Day. The next find was a Robin's nest, in 

 the embankment, containing five eggs ; and a little 

 further on a pair of Marsh Tits afforded me gratifica- 

 tion, for I watched them building their nest in the 

 hole of an oak. The hole was quite twenty feet from 

 the ground, which is rather unusual, for as a rule 

 this species prefers a hole close to the ground some- 

 times almost on it. This pair were at the lining 

 stage, for they were collecting some fleece which 

 happened to be at the side of the line. As I went 

 up the river bank a male Pied Flycatcher allowed me 

 to approach within a few feet of him, which made me 

 suspect that he had not long arrived in these parts. 

 I could not see his mate anywhere. In the chink of 

 a pollard willow I discovered a Wren's nest just ready 

 for eggs, and several Chaffinches' homes built in thorn- 

 bushes, none of which contained eggs. A little 

 further on I flushed a Song Thrush from her eggs. 

 The nest was a curious one, composed almost 

 entirely of moss and a huge flake of wool, reminding 

 one in this respect of a Missel Thrush's. Of course 

 it had the usual lining of mud and decaying wood. 

 Saw a good many Sandpipers. Leaving the river, I 

 crossed the road and mounted a range of hills run- 

 ning parallel with it. There are some rather good 

 rocks almost at the summit of these hills, and in 

 some bushes growing at their base I noticed four 



