COMMON HERON. 387 



Odd pairs have also at times nested at Wooley Park, Wils- 

 trop, Ripley, Gouthwaite Hall, Bishop Thornton, Goldsborough 

 (near Allerton), Burnsall in Upper Wharf edale, Ingmanthorpe, 

 Bramham, and in Cockett Wood in Upper Ribblesdale. 



The existing colonies are at : 



Harewood, the seat of the Earl of Harewood, where there 

 used to be a large Heronry. Mr. Moorsom Maude informed 

 me, in 1902, that in 1866 there were from twenty to thirty 

 nests in Piper's Wood, and about 1884 a terrific gale blew down 

 many of the trees, thus disturbing the nests. From that date 

 they gradually decreased, and in 1902 I saw only seven, 

 which were in tall fir trees in a different part of the wood to 

 where the old Heronry was situated. In 1903 only five 

 pairs nested, and young were hatched on Good Friday. 



Flasby, near Gargrave, on Capt. Preston's estate. There 

 was a Heronry until 1865, when, owing to the cutting down 

 of two big oak trees in which some of the nests were built, 

 the birds, intolerant of being disturbed, emigrated to Eshton 

 Hall, Sir M. W. Wilson's property, about a mile distant. 

 In 1881 they numbered twenty pairs, and in the year 1905 

 seventeen pairs nested. 



, Gisburn, on Lord Ribblesdale's estate. There is now a 

 colony formed by the Herons from the deserted stations of 

 Browsholme and Harrop Hall. In the present year (1906), 

 it consisted of seventeen pairs. Odd pairs also breed in 

 isolated cases in the district. 



The East Riding Heronries were stated to be at : 



Hutton Cranswick, Mr. Bethell's ; but this is an error, 

 as there is no record of a Heronry at Hutton. 



Stork Hill, near Beverley, which ceased to exist about the 

 beginning of last century. 



Scorborough, near Beverley, which gradually decreased 

 till about 1830, when the birds forsook, partly in consequence 

 of the trees decaying ; one or two pairs have bred constantly 

 in a wood called Beswick Rush, two miles from Beverley. 



Swanland, near Hull ; possibly Herons bred there many 

 years ago, but no information is obtainable. 



Hotham. Up to 1819 there was a Heronry in large Scotch 



