298 THE ZOOLOGIST. 
On January 2nd the frost still held, and the morning of the 
3rd was ushered in by a heavy fall of snow, which lay thickly on 
the frozen ground. On the 4th and 5th there were alternate 
frosts and thaws which continued until the 6th, when heavy rain 
with south-easterly wind setin. ‘The gale, with heavy showers, 
continued for two days, when the wind became more easterly ; 
frost returned on the 8th, and by the 11th the river was again 
covered with sheets of ice, drifting out with the ebb-tide. On 
the 12th another thaw supervened, and five Wild Swans were 
seen flying low up the river. This thaw, with showers of rain, 
lasted until the 16th, when again the frost set in, and continued 
till the 18th, when a thaw, with showery weather, lasted until 
the 22nd, upon which day the frost returned with such severity 
that at 11 o'clock that night the thermometer registered ten 
degrees of frost, and next morning all the bays and creeks were 
closed by ice, the ebb-tide bringing down large sheets from the 
higher parts of the river. The night and early morning being 
quite calm was most favourable for the formation of ice on 
the open sea, and when the Enniscrone fishermen went out 
at four o'clock to set their lines in the bay they found the 
sea covered with a sheet of ice about a quarter of an inch in 
thickness, and extending for a distance of two miles from the 
shore! The fact of ice forming on the open sea in Killala Bay 
was a great surprise to the fishermen, for the oldest man amongst 
them had never seen or heard of a similar instance. The day 
being very calm I was induced to get out my punt, and as soon as 
the channel was partly cleared of ice I paddled down to Bartragh 
to try my luck with the Widgeon. I saw numbers, but as usual 
they were scattered along the shores, and though I secured twenty- 
four and one Teal, yet my best shot was only ten birds. Godwits 
and Knots were very numerous on the sands, and I saw a small 
party of Sheldrakes near Scurmore. 
The frost still held, and on the 24th I saw twenty-two Wild 
Swans flying about the river, but instead of alighting they all 
went off in the direction of the lough in the Castle demesne at 
Killala, and on the 26th four Swans were seen resting on the 
water close to where I keep the boat, but on being disturbed they 
flew up the river to Castleconnor. The frost continued to the 
27th and 28th, with no appearance of a thaw. On the last- 
named day I went down to Bartragh, and saw numbers of 
