NOTES FROM NORTH LINCOLNSHIRE, 13 
Greenfinches or Chaffinches, or numbers of the fragile but hardy 
little Golderest clinging to the naked boughs, or searching the 
depths of the thicket, as if the passage of six hundred miles of 
salt-water was but an ordinary and everyday occurrence. Such 
is one of our marsh hedgerows near the coast in the migratory 
season. 
At Spurn, on October 29th, Mr. Clarke saw a flock of Snow 
Buntings, and understood thcy had been seen the day previously ; 
they were much more numerous on the 30th, and still more so on 
the following day. We saw a flock at Tetney, on the Lincolnshire 
coast, on the 3lst. On November 4th a single flock in one of my 
stubbles numbered from four to five hundred; and on the 6th 
there were several flocks, from two hundred to four hundred and 
five hundred, in all the stubbles near the river. 
The first Jack Snipe was seen here on November 11th. On 
the 12th, during a walk along the “ beck’’ for four or five miles 
I saw so many Bullfinches, over and above any local residents we 
have, that I am inclined to think they must be immigrants. Some 
were remarkably fine and handsome birds. It is worth recording 
that on November 22nd, sharp frost,—the ground indeed frozen 
“as hard as a stone,’—1in riding across Riby Park, at the foot of 
the North Wolds, I found examples of both oak and elm, big 
trees, in full green leaf; other trees of the same kind in the 
park had nearly lost their leaves, and appeared in the livery of 
autumn. 
Large flights of various small birds came in on or about the 
25th November, more particularly Greenfinches, Linnets and some 
Tree Sparrows. The Linnets were old birds. I got four very 
interesting examples from one flock, showing the gradual change 
through various stages to winter plumage. As a rule, all our 
shore birds have been unusually scarce, unless I except the 
Sanderling and Knot. Of the former, at Spurn, Mr. Clarke says, 
“Tn larger flocks than I have ever before seen them; very 
numerous.” I saw immense flocks of Knots on the Lincolnshire 
coast on October 31st. 
A most remarkable feature of the past season has been the 
large flight of Skuas along the east coast. They have “hugged 
the shore” this year in their autumnal cruise south much closer 
than is generally the case, having probably been driven in by a 
succession of heavy gales, and consequently attracted more 
