A HISTORY OF WORCESTERSHIRE 



shire, and the abandonment of the extensive 

 growth of beans on which the geese fed, and 

 which gave the name to the present species. 

 It was to and from that locah'ty that the 

 several kinds of grey geese made their annual 

 autumn migration to and from the low-lying 

 lands near the mouth of the Severn, as men- 

 tioned by Yarrell. The present writer well 

 remembers the large flights of geese of more 

 than one species which annually passed over 

 on their way westward or on their return 

 eastward ; and an old inhabitant of South 

 Littleton, whose diary contains many curious 

 and interesting entries, made the following 

 record relating to wild geese : — 



'1839, Nov. 9th. A flock of 200 wild 

 geese fled over Littleton in a north-east direc- 

 tion in 4 separate flocks about 20 yards apart : 

 this was the biggest lot together I ever saw ; 

 there had been many small flocks seen flying 

 that way a few weeks before at diiferent 

 times.' 



To that the writer added the following : — 



'Additional note. The 3 Geese seen on 

 the 1 6th of December were flying westward 

 instead of towards the north-east as stated 

 above.' 



Gaggles of geese are now very rarely seen 

 travelling, but on December 15th, 1898, 

 about fifty grey geese passed over Littleton 

 in a north-east direction, and on the follow- 

 ing day three similar birds were seen pursuing 

 the same line. 



[23. Pink-footed Goose. An 

 chus, Baillon. 



brachyrhyn- 



Like the last species, the pink-footed goose 

 was formerly fairly common in the Severn 

 district. The large gaggles of wild geese 

 which were seen journeying westward about 

 Michaelmas were either of this species, the 

 bean-goose, or the white-fronted goose. The 

 writer has examined individuals of all three 

 which have been shot, and has satisfactorily 

 determined the species. 



124. Barnacle - Goose. Bernicla leucopsis 



(Bechstein). 

 The barnacle is included by Hastings in 

 his list of Worcestershire birds, but he does 

 not give any indication of its frequency or 

 locality. That it has, however, occasionally 

 frequented the Avon the writer can from per- 

 sonal observation aflirm. It must, however, 

 be regarded as a rare bird in the county. 



125. Brent Goose. Bernicla brenta {PzWss). 

 This can only be mentioned as another 



irregular visitor to Worcestershire. It has 

 never, like the grey geese, made periodical 



moves in large flights, but has appeared in 

 an erratic manner, and generally singly, 

 during the winter. 



126. Whooper Swan. Cygnus musicus, Bech- 



stein. 

 According to Sir Charles Hastings, the 

 whooper has occurred in Worcestershire on 

 several occasions, chiefly in the Severn and 

 Teme, namely, at Powick Weir on the Teme 

 in February, 1830 ; one in the Severn be- 

 tween Severn Stoke Church and the Rhydd 

 in the same month of that year ; and another 

 at Diglis, also in the Severn, on February 11, 

 but the year not mentioned. Lees says that 

 it appears, though rarely in severe winters, 

 in the Severn and Teme. The present writer 

 has known a small flight of these fine birds 

 frequent the Avon near Harvington for several 

 days. That was in the winter of 1894—95. 

 It does not seem that any attempt has ever 

 been made to distinguish the swans that have 

 been killed, they have all been assumed to be 

 C. musicus although it is quite probable some 

 were C. bewicki. 



127. Common Sheld-Duck. Tadorna cornuta 



(S. G. Gmelin). 

 The present species is essentially a coast or 

 estuarine bird, and appears in our inland 

 streams only occasionally. It breeds in con- 

 siderable numbers in the Severn estuary where 

 it is known as the ' Borrow duck.' All 

 the Worcestershire specimens I have seen 

 have been immature. It is mentioned by 

 Hastings as a straggler. 



128. Mallard or Wild Duck. Anas hoscas^ 



Linn. 

 A resident bird which breeds wherever 

 there are suitable and protected places. The 

 head of a pollard withy tree is not infrequently 

 chosen as a nesting-place. 



129. Shoveler. Spatula clypeata (Linn.). 



A winter visitor, appearing on our streams 

 very occasionally. I do not find any mention 

 of it as a Worcestershire bird in Hastings, but 

 Willis Bund includes it in the list of birds of 

 our county, and Lees mentions one which 

 was shot at Rosebery Rock on the Teme. 

 It appears occasionally in the Avon. 



130. Pintail. Dafila acuta (Linn.). 



This duck is mentioned by Hastings as of 

 ' frequent occurrence in the winter season in 

 our various rivers and pools,' a statement that 

 does not by any means accord with my know- 

 ledge of the species. I have found it to be of 

 unusual appearance in our rivers. 



