THE HERONRY IN RICHMOND PARK 115 



nests became plainly visible. It was placed on the top 

 of a tall spruce-fir, which was so thickly loaded with 

 the solid pile of brambles, sticks, and reeds, that a 

 sudden gale must endanger the safety of tree and nest 

 alike. The hen-bird was sitting close, and as she 

 slipped silently, like a grey shadow, from the nest, the 

 faint cry of the young was clearly heard. The second 

 nest was built in an oak, and a third and fourth in two 

 spruces growing side by side. In a small group of 

 spruce- firs further to the north, almost every tree held 

 a nest, the spruces being evidently the favourite site for 

 the herons' nursery. One large nest was placed in a 

 beech, near the lake-side, and others in the oaks further 

 to the north. In all there appear to be at least twelve 

 pairs, in addition to four more building in a separate 

 wood which crowns the hill to the north. 



As each heron left its nest and joined the company 

 of its fellows which were soaring above the wood, the 

 scene became more wild and striking than is common, 

 even in surroundings more often associated with English 

 heronries than the centre of a London park. As the 

 eye travelled upwards beyond the green summits of the 

 oaks, the sky was filled with the forms of these wide- 

 winged birds, sweeping in hurried and anxious circles 

 between the tree-tops and the sun, and casting swift 

 and intermittent shadows that cut and crossed the 

 broken lights beneath. All the birds were thoroughly 

 alarmed ; their flight was extremely rapid ; and the 

 grouping of such a number of dark forms, moving 

 swiftly against a limited space of sky, their plumage 



