INVERERNE. 87 



April 17th. To-day being a soft and rainy clay, immense 

 numbers of wild geese arrived from southwards, brought north- 

 wards by the disappearance of the snow. These birds have 

 arrived much later this year than they usually do, being pro- 

 bably delayed by the long continuance of winter and frost. 

 There are large flocks of the bean goose, known by their dark 

 coloured heads and necks. The large light coloured grey geese 

 remain in small Hocks of six to twelve, and are easily dis- 

 tinguished from the other geese by their lighter colour and 

 slower movements. They frequent clover and green wheat fields 

 more than the new sown grain. 



The arrival of the geese to-day was worth seeing. An 

 immense body of 300 or 400 birds arrived first in one flock. 

 As soon as they were above the sands, every bird appeared to 

 commence calling, making together a noise that first attracted 

 our attention, though we were nearly a mile from the place. 

 After flying to and fro a short time above the bay, they broke 

 off into different companies, and dispersed through the country 

 looking for feeding-places. We could see the flocks as they 

 wheeled round and round different new sown fields looking- 

 for places to alight. All the afternoon fresh flocks came in. 



April ~L8th. Though the snow is entirely washed away 

 here and on the lower hills, the rain of yesterday must 

 have been snow on Wevis, as it is entirely covered with a 

 new coating. Blackbirds, thrushes, and hedge-sparrows have 

 eggs. I rode up to the heronry to-day.^ The number of herons 

 is very much diminished, but the rooks have increased very 

 much. The keeper of Sir W. Gumming, who I saw up there, 

 tells me that he had been climbing to the jackdaws' nests (these 

 birds breed in great numbers in the rocks on the opposite side 

 of the river to the herons). The jackdaws had no eggs of their 

 own yet, but he showed me a whole handful of the shells of 

 herons' eggs which he had found about the nests of the jackdaws, 

 these birds evidently being in the habit of constantly plundering 

 the nests of their neighbours, and of carrying off the eggs to eat 



* Heronry now extinct. See "Sport in Moray, 1882," p. 52'. 



