46 Bolam: The Natural History of Hornsea Mere. 
built chiefly of reeds and lined with the flowering heads of 
last season’s growth—a typical nest, situated in a bunch of 
sedge (C. paludosa), one of a bed growing among thinly- 
scattered reeds, on the landward side of the main reed fringe 
of the Mere. I waded in to examine this nest on 3rd May, by 
which date the young had left it, and were moving about and 
being fed by their parents among the reeds, their progress 
being by climbing from reed to reed, not by flight, of which 
they were barely capable. They were most adroit at dis- . 
appearing into the coarse growth of last year’s sedge and in 
concealing themselves and moving about among it, almost 
defying capture, though several might be within a few feet of 
me at the same time. There were two nests here within a 
few yards of one another, and similarly situated in the same 
growth of sedge, and a third not more than twenty yards away, 
the young of these being all abroad in the herbage, while, — 
during the time I was watching these young being tended by 
their parents, I noticed several other adults carrying food 
(apparently all insects) to more distant nests, and on one 
occasion had no fewer than eight males ‘ pinging’ close to me 
among the reeds,'all mobbing a single female like a band of 
noisy sparrows! In addition to the ordinary note of ping, 
ping, a low titz, titz is also frequently uttered, and when I was 
near the young the plaintive ee-ar, ee-ary, mentioned by Saunders, 
was constantly repeated. On this occasion, as well as in Mr. 
St. Quintin’s company on 22nd April, the dragon-fly-like 
flight of the tits, when toying and following one another 
through the air (sometimes ten feet or more above the top of 
the reeds) was specially remarked upon. 
During the succeeding week or so I marked the site of at 
least two other nests here—making five in all in this reed-bed— 
to each of which the old birds were carrying food. On 8th 
May a pair was watched similarly engaged in the ‘jungle’ at 
the bottom of the Heronry Wood, and on 27th May I saw 
three recently-fledged young among the reeds nearer to our 
boat-house ; so that it is probable at least two nests oc- 
curred at this station. In any event it is certain that there 
were at least six, if not seven, broods safely brought off on the 
Mere during the end of April or beginning of May, the average 
number of young being probably not fewer than five. On 
28th May I saw six young, pretty recently fledged, sitting side 
by side near the top of the reeds at the water’s edge at the 
mouth of our boat-house channel, sunning themselves in the 
early morning and waiting to be fed. 
On 12th May Mr. H. B. Booth and I saw several adults 
about Heslop’s reeds, and he took one of the nests which I 
had marked as fledged on the 3rd, and this he subsequently 
presented to the Museum at Hull.* 
*See The Naturalistfor June 1912, pp. 168-170. 
Naturalist, 
