530 



MY GARDEN. 



if fish are wanted, it is impossible for him to keep herons. It is 

 usual on the Upper Wandle to watch for the herons at night, and 

 shoot them. They are also frequently taken in rabbit traps. 



There is no heronry around us, although they build on the tops 

 of the tallest trees. The nearest one to us that I have heard of is 

 at Cobham Park, near Gravesend ; there is another at Claremont, 

 on the river Mole. Formerly they built at Wanstead, and I have 



FIG. 1138. Woodcock, $th nat. size. 



FIG. 1139. Common Snipe, th nat. size. 



seen a nest at Chigwell in Essex : probably our herons come from 

 Clarempnt. I have also heard of a heronry in Windsor Park. These 

 birds visit Beddington Park and the upper part of my water. 



A bird supposed to be a Crane (Grits cinerca) appeared in the 

 Park every evening for fifteen or sixteen days, in February '1871, 

 but it was never absolutely authenticated. 



FIG. ,,40,-Jack Snipe. FiaT ix^-Sandpiper. 



The Woodcock (Scolopax rusticola, fig. 1138) visits the garden, and 

 two species of snipes: the Common Snipe (Scolopax gallinago, fig. 1139), 

 which is found abundantly on the Sewage grounds every winter; 



