Birds. 9533 



narrow runlet, failed to detect its bill, which would probably be pro- 

 truded somewhere out of sight under the bank-side: the mud at the 

 bottom was apparently undisturbed. Had I not been quite certain of 

 the spot where the teal fell I should have given up the search as use- 

 less, but having seen it disappear at that exact spot, induced me to 

 persevere in my search ; so, taking out the ramrod from the gun, 

 I pushed it into the light mud of the ditch, and raised it up in the 

 place where I suspected the teal would be, when up came the bird 

 from under the mud and went fluttering down the drain. In this case, 

 from the shallowness of the water, it had not been able to dive, and 

 had thus buried itself completely in the loose mud. I have seen nearly 

 a similar instance of concealment in a water hen : in this case I had 

 walked up suddenly to the side of one of the many circular ponds in 

 this parish, known as " blow-wells," the water of which never freezes 

 even in the most severe winters. These little ponds are remarkably 

 clear, and in the centre, where the spring rises, are of great depth. 

 Just as I stepped up to the side I saw a water hen feeding in the 

 shallows near the margin. The bird on perceiving me instantly buried 

 itself in the light mud, and when the water became clear I detected 

 its bill under a small portion of floating weed. In the same manner 

 as with the teal, I put the ramrod directly under the bird and raised 

 it up ; it rose to the surface, went fluttering over the shallows, dived 

 into the deep clear water, and I saw it make its way across the pond 

 and rise again in a bed of reeds on the opposite side. The water was 

 so shallow round the margin of the blow-well that the water hen was 

 unable to dive, and so it instantly adopted the next best course and 

 concealed itself in the mud. 



Lesser Redpole. — Observed a lesser redpole (January 11th) busily 

 employed in searching up and down amongst the tall reeds in a marsh 

 drain. I have never seen one before in such a situation. It was very 

 tame, and I was able to approach within a few feet of the little fellow, 

 who exhibited all the graceful climbing propensities of a titmouse. 



Sionechat. — I was siu-prised to see a stonechat on the 12th of 

 November in this parish. I was first attracted by its note, uttered as 

 it sat on the topmost twig of a fence. It is a rare bird in North 

 Lincolnshire, and I have never been able to discover its nest in this 

 neighbourhood. The whinchat is the commonest of our summer 

 visitants. 



Widgeon. — Unusually large flights of widgeon, mallard, scaup, and 

 an occasional tufted pochard, have frequented the Humber during 

 December and January. The great haunt of the widgeon aud mallard 



