28 THE OSPEEY. 



were swimming in the stream and seemed to be greatly 

 alarmed. He fired a shot at the Ospreys, but did not kill 

 either of them, and they flew away along the Cockburn 

 Braes. Shortly afterwards he heard that one of them had 

 been so severely wounded by Mr. Andrew Bell, Cockburn, 

 that it fell to the ground, but, recovering again, took wing 

 in the direction of the Eetreat, where it was found by a boy 

 on the following day lying dead by the side of the Whit- 

 adder, and given to Mr. Bertram. 1 The occurrence of the 

 subject of our notice on the Leader, near the Old Craw 

 Ha' in 1867, and in the vicinity of Newmills Bridge a few 

 years later, is recorded by Mr. Kelly. 2 The gamekeeper at 

 Mordington relates that on a Sunday afternoon in September 

 1871 he saw a large bird, which was apparently unable to 

 fly, floating down the Eye, which was in flood at the time, 

 and the current taking it into the " lead " at Netherbyres 

 Mill, Mr. Bell helped him to lay hold of it. It was found 

 to have a trout nine inches long in its claws, and did not, 

 on being pursued, relax its grasp of the fish. It seemed to 

 have been wounded in the thigh by a gunshot. He took it 

 to Ayton Castle, where Mr. Mitchell-Innes gave directions 

 that it should be kept at the kennels and supplied with fish ; 

 but as food of that kind could not be got in a fresh state, 

 no boats being at sea at the time, and as it would not eat 

 rabbits' livers, which were offered as a substitute, it died. 3 

 From further particulars given to me by the gamekeeper at 

 Ayton Castle, 4 the bird was evidently an Osprey. The late 

 Mr. Alexander Leitch, Fairneyside, mentioned to me some 



1 1 saw this specimen in Mr. Bertram's possession at the Retreat in September 

 1883. He informed me that it measured five feet eight inches from tip to tip of 

 the extended wings. 



2 Hist. Ber. Nat. Club, vol. vii. p. 520. 



3 Information from Mr. James Purves, gamekeeper, Mordington, on the 28th of 

 December 1885. 



4 Mr. Hugh Fraser, now gamekeeper at Kelloe, 



