128 Protection of Wild Life in Yorkshire. 
find half-a-dozen nests in a day ; now I hardly find more than 
one or two in a season. In the winter months family parties 
were to be regularly met with flitting along the hedgerows in 
their characteristic busy manner, now several winters may pass 
without encountering a party. The last lot I saw was just 
outside the railway station at Harrogate. Whinchats, formerly 
abundant, their peculiar note being heard all over our country- 
side, and along the railway embankments in particular, have 
decreased in an alarming manner, and the Redstart, whose 
form we were familiar with in almost every country lane, is 
sadly diminished in numbers. The causes for this cannot lie 
in our own country. I think it may partially arise from the 
continual netting of small birds during the migration season, 
which is persistently carried on in some of the continental 
countries in the lines of migration. 
Of course the numbers of other migrants vary from year 
to year; in some seasons they are abundant, in others com- 
paratively scarce, but this is only the natural order of things, 
and they do not show the steady lessening in numbers as do 
the species referred to. Pied Flycatchers too, are missing 
from many of their old haunts. Iam pleased to say that they 
have, however, returned to one of their old breeding spots, 
not so very many miles from Keighley, in greater numbers than 
usual this year. Reed Warblers, with possibly the exception 
of Hornsea Mere, have been on the down grade for some time. 
In one other locality they have, after rapidly decreasing, 
rather more than maintained their numbers in recent years. 
In my district Yellow Hammers are not anything like so 
numerous as they used to be, and this applies to many other 
districts. I think the present system of uprooting all the 
bush-wood on the country road sides, where Yellow Hammers 
nested freely, in some measure accounts for the diminution. 
We have just had an example of this rural vandalism near 
Harrogate. There is a beautiful country tane leading from 
Birk Crag to Fewston, locally called the rough road ; each side 
was fringed with a delightful tangle of bramble, and other 
bushes; a favourite spot for picnics. In summer it was a 
delight to wander along it. This year the Knaresborough 
Rural District Council have taken it into their heads to stub 
up all this vegetation. If they persit -in their vandalism, it 
will have the result of converting a delightful and picturesque 
lane into a long dreary and uninteresting road to be avoided 
by everyone. 
~ Common Buntings, or Corn Buntings, as I prefer to call 
them, have decreased I think, very considerably on our coast 
line. Like Stonechats, they are essentially, in Yorkshire, birds 
of the coast, though they are found inland in much greater 
numbers than the Stonechat. On my last visit to Spurn, I 
Naturalist, 
