NOTES FROM THE LAKE DISTRICT AND WALNREY. 279 
able to discover. On the 13th January of this year I saw a flock 
of about a hundred on the channel, preparing no doubt to spread 
themselves along the coast, where they may now be seen in pairs— 
a small remnant of the thousands which, within the memory of man 
used to frequent the warrens in this locality. Considerable numbers 
are unfortunately killed during the spring, and fetch a large price 
for ornamental purposes. Having always been under the impression 
that the young of these birds take to the water for refuge at the 
least alarm, I was somewhat surprised at what I witnessed on the 
4th August, whilst out with my gun on one of the Cumberland 
estuaries. I had been watching, with a telescope, a brood of nine 
young Sheldrakes, which, together with their parents, were basking 
in the sun on the mud bordering the river,—at that time three or 
four hundred yards in breadth,—when, having inadvertently shown 
my head, the whole brood rushed helter-skelter into the water, swam 
rapidly across the stream, and, climbing out on the opposite bank, 
made off across the marsh towards a hedge which bounded the 
adjacent cornfields. About an hour later J came suddenly upon 
another brood in a much narrower part of the river, and they at 
once proceeded to dive with the speed of lightning, popping up 
and down again with such rapidity that I doubt whether I could 
have killed any had I felt so inclined. As in the former case, as 
soon as these had reached what they seemed to consider a safe 
distance, they also left the water and disappeared on-the marsh the 
other side. On going round by the nearest bridge I could find no 
trace of the young birds, though the old ones were flying round at 
a safe distance. I ought to mention that at low tide the river was 
reduced to three or four feet in depth and about thirty yards in 
breadth, which would be sufficient to account for these unusual 
proceedings on the part of the young Sheldrakes, though the old 
birds might have provided more effectively for their safety by 
leading them down to the sea, about half a mile distant. A male 
bird which I killed later on the same day presented a very shabby 
appearance—a marked contrast, especially as regards the scarlet 
knob at the base of the beak and the brilliancy of its plumage, to 
a magnificent specimen which was obtained in March by the keeper 
of the Walney Lighthouse. 
The first of what may be called the migratory ducks—those, 
namely, which do not, as a rule, nest in Kngland—appeared on 
our large warm water reservoir (situated about a quarter of a mile 
