48 IN A CHESHIRE GARDEN 



over and over again all the time I was there. 



For some years a tree-pipit used to take 

 up his abode with us every summer and give 

 us the benefit of his energetic song. I was 

 very much amused once to watch him on 

 some iron hurdles at the end of the garden. 

 He was so much in earnest and so full of 

 energy; he would sing a little bit, then run 

 along the top rail a little way, then sing again, 

 and so on until he had gone nearly the whole 

 length of the railings. This entertainment 

 he went through day after day for a fortnight 

 or more at the end of June and the beginning 

 of July. 



Spotted flycatchers have not been as 

 common with us lately as they were at one 

 time, when they always made their home here 

 during their summer visit to this country, and 

 were constantly in evidence. We have not 

 had a nest for several years, and last year 

 (1911) I did not see a single flycatcher in the 

 garden, but this year, I am glad to say, they 

 have come back again and there has been a 

 nest in the ivy on the house wall. It was 

 placed so low down that we could easily look 

 into it, but never once did I surprise the old 

 bird; she seemed to hear one's footsteps at 

 a distance, and long before one reached the 

 nest she was off. The young were hatched 

 on June 29th, but their eyes did not open 

 until July 6th. Whilst they were blind and 

 as they grew bigger the nest seemed much too 



