Birds by Land and Sea 



communities, so that there was, perhaps, litt 

 of its nesting here alone. It is never safe, 

 to assume that you know what a bird will d 



Following the path which skirts the 

 enters a lane which, from its overarching t 

 grown walls and hedgerows, might reaso 

 styled an avenue. Such, in fact, it is, and t 

 way to Penmon Priory and the "Park" 

 It seemed natural that we should find spi 

 catchers nesting in the thick forks of the 

 we were less prepared to discover birds o 

 retiring sort in such a situation. 



In this lane is the entrance-gate to the 

 marble quarries, and immediately adjoin: 

 the picture shows, is an old oak. I was p; 

 latter with my eyes on the ground when : 

 tion was arrested by thousands of chips of 

 lying at its foot. I looked up to see the el 

 the tree of this act of vandalism, as I imag 

 be, but s., no outward evidence of it. 

 from the ground, however, there was a la 

 ing into the tree, which was hollow. Ab< 

 higher was a similar opening, the two openi 

 connected by the hollow trunk. As I w 

 to pass my arm down the trunk, my son d 

 brought up an egg, which had lain with th 

 upon a bedding of chips a foot and a half 

 lower opening. The mystery of the chip; 

 explained. Strange as it may seem, a gn 

 pecker had made its nest four feet from tl 



194 



