47 

 AUTUMN BIRD-NOTES FROM NOTTS. 



B. WHITLOCK, 



A ttciiborougli. 



I FOUND Mr. Cordeaux's Humber notes particularly interesting. 

 There is no doubt we get most of our autumn migrants via the 

 Humber and Trent Valley. The direction of the spring migration, 

 however, is not so clearly defined. 



Tits. Our osier-beds by the Trent side during September and 

 October have simply swarmed with Blue Tits {Pariis cceruleus). 

 Great Tits {P. major), Coal Tits {F. ater), and Long-tailed 

 Tits {F. caudatus) have also been numerous. On October 6th 

 I saw a flock of these four species cross a lane, numbering 

 upwards of fifty birds. At the time of writing (January 2nd) 

 Blue Tits are still numerous. 

 Great Spotted Woodpecker {Bendrocopus major). This has 

 also occurred in our village (Attenborough), and I have heard 

 of half a dozen Spotted Crakes {Forzana marnetta) being seen 

 or killed during September and October. On September 4th 

 a fine adult female was 'telegraph-wired' close to my house, 

 no doubt during migration. On October 19th, an immature 

 female was sent me, one of three killed just outside Nottingham. 

 I have since heard of others. 

 Redpoles. The Lesser Redpole {Linota rufescens) breeds regularly 

 with us. I have met with one small flock of L. linaria, out of 

 which I killed a single male, showing traces of pink on the 

 breast (November 2Sth). 

 Bramblings {Fringilla montifringilla) have been fairly numerous, 



judging from bird-catchers' reports. 

 Black Terns {Sterna nigra) only occur in the spring. I have 

 seen as many as eight or nine in one afternoon. They occur 

 regularly about the end of May, usually with S. hiruiido. 

 Amongst other birds, the Peregrine {Fako peregriniis) and the 

 Bittern {Botauriis stellaris) have both been shot near Cunthorpe in 

 December. The former bird is a fine specimen. I take it to be 

 a young male, the breast being sparingly streaked with dark brown. 

 The expanse of the wings is about forty inches. Both the Peregrine 

 and Bittern seem to occur every year. An Osprey {Fandion 

 haliaetus) is reported in one of our local papers, but I have not yet 

 been able to confirm this. A friend was at Hunstanton on Novem- 

 ber 6th ; he reported an arrival of immense numbers of Lapwings 

 ( Vanellus vulgaris). This would be simultaneous with the arrival 

 noted by Mr. Haigh. 



Feb. 1890. 



