FOREWORD 



IN these pages I have attempted to set down the varied 

 experiences which fall to the lot of the nature lover in 

 his wanderings. They deal chiefly with the highlands 

 of Scotland and their birds, but the reader will find descrip- 

 tions of the Northumbrian coast in winter, the Aran Islands 

 west of the Irish coast, and a hill pass of the Pyrenees. 



Many of the chapters first saw the light in the Scotsman, 

 to the editor of which I am under an obligation for his 

 courtesy in allov/ing of their reproduction in book form. 



I must also here acknowledge my indebtedness to the 

 editors of the Times, Country Life, and Illustrated Sporting 

 and Dramatic News for permission to reproduce articles 

 which appeared in the first place in these papers. 



In the compiling of the book, and more especially in the 

 taking of the photographs, I have been constantly helped 

 by my wife, and the book owes a great deal to her assistance 

 and encouragement. 



SETON GORDON. 



Oban^ Mayj 1921. 



