VOL. vni.] NOTES. 103 



that a severe storm occurred there on Saturday, July 4th ; 

 on the 2nd (the date of the storm at the Teesmouth) there 

 was a very heavy thunderstorm, but no hail, only very 

 heavy rain. The ice storm on the 4th was quite local, and 

 centred on Live Moor ; in fact it did not extend across the 

 valley of Scugdale to the big moor, which runs parallel to, 

 and only half a mile distant from Live Moor. The ice might 

 be described as in lumps of all shapes and sizes up to about 

 three inches in length, as though a large collection of icicles 

 had been broken into fragments, and the duration of the 

 storm was about half an hour, with continuous thunder and 

 lightning. In places where large covies of Grouse had been 

 located, they were entirely wiped out, and this season is 

 the worst ever known there. The big moor, on the contrary, 

 is much above the average; quite equal to the best years 

 Mr. Emerson has experienced. Swainby is distant fifteen 

 miles S.S.W. by S. from the Teesmouth. T. H. Nelson. 



Early Nesting in Scotland in 1914. — Mr. W. Evans 

 contributes an interesting note on the season of 1914 to the 

 Scottish Naturalist 1914, p. 163, whicli tends to show that the 

 summer-like weather of April tempted several species to 

 breed earlier than usual. Among the more notable records are 

 the following : Greenfinch, 2 eggs on April 17th in Edinburgh 

 district ; Rock-Pipit with recently-hatched young on May 

 11th on Isle of May; Wood- Warbler, 6 eggs, three or four 

 days incubated on May 24th (East Lothian), and Great 

 Spotted Woodpecker with young on May 26tli (East Lothian). 

 That the Golden Plover frequently lays in the latter half 

 of April is a well-knoAvn fact, and the statements to which 

 Mr. Evans presumably refers in the fourth edition of Yarrell 

 and Seebohm's History of British Birds have been corrected 

 in later works, such as Saunders's Manual and the British 

 Bird Book. A Partridge's nest with several eggs is recorded 

 from near Dunbar on May 3rd ; an Eider Duck's nest with 

 5 eggs (incubation begun) on the Isle of May on May Stli ; 

 while one Guillemot's egg and five Razorbill's were seen 

 in situ at the same locality on May 9th, and one Guillemot's 

 egg is reported to have been laid on May 7th. Three are 

 said to have been taken from the Bass Rock on the 8th, 

 and Razorbills and Puffins had eggs on the Bass on May 11th. 

 Kitti wakes had begun to lay on the Isle of May on May 19th. 

 Mr. Evans states that the dates here recorded for the 

 Guillemot, Razorbill and Kittiwake are the earliest among 

 his records for the neighbourhood, whicli cover a considerable 

 period. — ^F. C. R. Jotirdain. 



