NATURE IN MARCH. 



I. 



THIS is the first month of Spring, and right glad should bird 

 lovers be that it is here. Nature has advanced since last 

 month ; the early young Lambs are getting stronger as will be 

 seen from our frontispiece and the Ants now cross the path of 

 the wayfarer. Nothing sounds so pleasant this month as a 

 Linnet chorus; only those who have heard it can appreciate it. 



This is the Violet season, and the Primroses are now in their 

 prime. One of the most beautiful of March flowers is the Ger- 

 mander Speedwell - it is as blue as a June sky. The Elm is now 

 covered with tufts of deep-red blossom, and in the orchards, 

 fields and gardens giant golden Daffodils are blooming. Mingled 

 with the glorious green grass, what a delightful contrast! The 

 photograph of " Early Spring, a Scene in Buckinghamshire ", 

 admirably portrays the surroundings at this season. There are 

 more nests in secluded spots than when we last wrote, too, and 

 all Nature is progressing towards the perfection of its loveliness. 



Perhaps it would be as well to deal in this opening essay 

 for March with our Summer Migrants. The season is not at 

 all inopportune when it is borne in mind that it is during this 

 month that the first visitors reach our shores. And what is 

 more interesting? 



There are about forty birds which regularly visit us during 

 the Spring and Summer, and these have nearly all taken their 

 departure by the end of September. 



One of the earliest feathered visitors to make its appearance 

 here is the Wheatear. It is generally amongst us by the second 

 week in March. About this time also - at any rate by the end 

 of the month I have often observed and heard the Chiff Chaff, 

 the Greater and Lesser Whitethroats, the Willow Wren, and the 

 Wood Wren, although the birds last enumerated with the 



