Birds. Qe>qi 



Bittern.- Mso seen and shot by the River Frome, and we saw one 

 at Weymouth which had been killed in that neighbourhood. 



Whimhrel.—WhWe rowing out one morning to look at some lobster- 

 pots, three vvhimbrel passed within a hundred yards of the boat; they 

 were flying eastward, but never alighted as long as we were able to 

 watch them. 



Common Sandpiper.— I noticed this bird in Wareham Harbour, 

 and L. saw one on the rocks in Meups Bay. It is said to be common 

 in Poole Harbour and at Portland. 



Snipe.-The snipe breeds at Winfrith, whence I obtained two eggs, 

 and saw several others which had been taken there. 



Land Rail and Moorhen.-The land rail appears common around 

 Lulworth ; we heard them constantly in the still evenings uttering 

 their strange harsh cry, but as we were not in want of their eggs we 

 did not waste time in looking for them. The same remark applies to 

 the moorhen, which is found along the River Frome, where also, as 

 we are assured, the wild duck frequently remains to breed. 



Swan.— A few words regarding the swannery belonging to Lord 

 Ilchester, near Abbotsbury, may be of interest, and perhaps not out of 

 place. In Hutchins's ' History of Dorsetshire,' there is an indifferent 

 catalogue of the birds of that county: with the exception of this there 

 IS little to interest the ornithologist, except the account of the swannery 

 at Abbotsbury. As this book was published many years ago, and is 

 now not easily referred to, I have extracted the account of the swan- 

 nery, which is as follows :—" About a quarter of a mile S.W. from the 

 town is a large decoy, well covered with wood, where great plenty of 

 wild fowl resort and are taken. A little west of the town is a noble 

 swannery, much visited by strangers. In the open or broad part of 

 the fleet are kept six or seven hundred swans, formerly fifteen hundred 

 or as some say, seven or eight thousand,* including hoopers, or a small 

 species of swan who feed and range and return home again. The 

 water, soil, the fishery called East Flete, and the flight of wild swans, 

 called the game of swans, yearly breeding, nesting and coming there' 

 were held by John Strangeways, Esq., of the Queen (Elizabeth) in 

 chief by the twentieth part of a fee, value £106 7s. 4^d., also the site 

 of the monastery, view of frankpledge, and courts leet in Abbotsbury 

 the flight of wild swans, &c., breeding, &c., in the oestuary or water 

 called West Flete, in Abbotsbury, value £2o Os. S^d. The royalty be- 

 longed anciently to the Abbot, since to the family of the Strangeways, 



* The number of swans is much decreased since Mr. Hutchins wrote There are 

 now probably not more than two hundred, including young birds. 



