114 BIRD LIFE IN WILD WALES 



which the female was sitting, whilst the male was 

 on a stump hard by. The nest itself was in rather 

 a fine oak, a tree not very easy to negotiate without 

 the aid of irons (I may incidentally say that there 

 were marks of them on the tree, but last year's, I 

 think). Eventually, however, I reached the summit, 

 for the nest was close to the top on rather a projecting 

 limb, and found that it contained three eggs, two of 

 them very fairly marked, the third almost spotless 

 except for a few very indistinct blurs. There were 

 besides a few Grouse feathers in the nest, which was 

 lined with dried grass. Both the Buzzards were 

 considerably agitated at our intrusion, the female 

 especially, and she sat in a tree hard by mewing 

 plaintively. Just after this I saw a male Pied Fly- 

 catcher, the first of the season ; and very spick and 

 span he looked after his long journey across the seas. 

 This is a much earlier species to arrive than his 

 cousin the Spotted Flycatcher, generally reaching 

 our shores by mid-April, whereas the latter seldom 

 arrives before the beginning of May, and in parts 

 often much later than that. Adjoining this oak 

 wood is a dense plantation of firs, which we set about 

 searching for a Sparrow-hawk's habitation. It was 

 an exceedingly likely spot, and we felt sure that it 

 contained a nest, for had we not just seen the in- 

 evitable little heap of feathers on a post which 

 spoke, though mutely, of a Sparrow-hawk's repast ? 

 It was very difficult covert to get through, as many 

 of the firs had fallen, and in so doing had got inter- 

 laced with their luckier brethren ; but in spite of 

 this we made fair progress, finding a last year's nest 



