3^ Yorkshire Naturalists Union : Annual Report, 1917. 



and picked up recently dead from a shot wound, not far from 

 the Strid, on vSeptember 6th, 1917. A Common Scoter and a 

 Black-throated Diver were shot on Thorpe's Reservoir, near 

 Huddersfield {ante 1917, p. 124). A flock of Wild Geese 

 settled in a field in Upper Wharfedale, in full daylight, on 

 December 13th, 1916 {ante 1917, p. 79) from which the local 

 farmers prophesied a bad winter, and near to the same place 

 seventeen days later, after tempestuous rains and floods, I 

 was surprised to see a pair of Turnstones {ante 1917, p. 79). 



East Riding. — Mr. E. W. Wade writes : — The exceptionally 

 cold and severe winter had disastrous effects upon bird life. 

 Blackbirds, Thrushes and Redwings died in large numbers 

 and Mistle Thrushes became very scarce. Many remains of 

 dead Peewits were observed upon the Carr lands in April, and 

 the numbers of breeding birds on this ground were seriously 

 diminished, though not on the Wolds. Many of the small 

 birds, e.g., Tits, Skylarks and Wrens were conspicuously 

 scarcer in the Spring. 



Of the birds breeding when the snow and frost first returned 

 in April, e.g., Rooks and Thrushes, some sat through the 30 

 degrees of frost we had in this district, and successfully reared 

 young, but of the Rooks about 50 per cent, lost their eggs and 

 young, whilst those who sat it out reared very small broods. 

 A proportion bred again, having young in the nests in June. 



The migrants were generally a week to a fortnight later 

 than in 1916 in appearing, but in this district were in the usual 

 numbers, reared their young successfully, and all disappeared 

 before the end of September, including Swallows and Martins. 



The Corncrake still survives here and there, as the rarest 

 of our Summer visitors. 



The Woodwren has bred in two localities in this district, 

 where I have no previous record of its occurrence except as a 

 migrant. 



A Stone Curlew was shot near Mappleton in November, 

 1916. 



A Spotted Crake, a bird of the year, was killed by a cat 

 in a garden in the heart of the manufacturing district of Hull,. 

 on 5th September. 



The Stone Ciirlew appeared on the Wolds on 21st x\pril, 

 and has bred satisfactorily in the protected areas. 



The appearance of the Wild Geese has been most imusual 

 this year. A few birds were seen in July, and the bulk had 

 arrived early in September, instead of the usual date, 21st 

 September. 



Much damage to small birds has resulted from a no doubt 

 well-meant attempt to start a crusade against the House 

 Sparrow in some localities. Numerous traps have been 

 employed by small boys, with a resulting destruction of Tits, 



Naturalist, 



