50 Bolam: The Natural History of Hornsea Mere. 
began to lay on 28th, and to sit on five eggs on Ist June; 
young hatched on 15th, and left the nest on 27th June. Nest 
in the beech tree root began to be built on or about 
ist June—on which date there was only a ‘scrape’ on a bank 
of soil and an odd bit of lichen in it,—first egg laid on 7th 
an d fifth egg on 12th, when incubation started. Young hatched 
on 26th, but disappeared next day. A nest against Taylor’s 
cottage had half-grown young on 27th June. They were 
fledged during the next week, and by 6th July the birds had 
built a new nest, about a foot away from the old one, and were 
at that date incubating a second clutch of five eggs. 
PIED FLYCATCHER.—Not seen by me, but Taylor has 
occasionally seen it in spring in other years. 
SwaALLow.—Numerous, there being fully fifty individuals 
over the Hornsea end of the Mere when I arrived on 20th 
April. Many nests in buildings round Wassand, and one in 
back porch at East Lodge, begun about Ist May but not 
finished till 20th; young—five of them—fledged end of June, 
and while still engaged in feeding these outside, the old birds 
within a few days started building a new nest. 
MARTIN..—_Was not numerous this year, but a few nests 
were seen on houses at Hornsea, and at farms, etc. One or 
two of the birds, with Swallows, were seen skimming over the 
Mere on 20th April. 
SAND MartTin.—Many always over the Mere, and large 
numbers were there on 20th April. A flock of some hundreds, 
apparently fresh arrivals, passed up the Mere on 11th May. 
On 19th May, just at the darkening in the evening, a compact 
flock of quite fifty passed swiftly overhead at Wassand, flying 
due north, though not very high. 
GREENFINCH.—Common, and about the end of June 
assembled in flocks, old and young together, to feed on seeds 
of Scotch elm (Ulmus montana), on the sides of the road at 
Wassand; for a few days almost to the neglect, apparently, 
of other food. 
HAWFINCH.—Not seen by me, but Taylor observed that a 
pair nested near his cottage a year or two ago, the only ones 
he had ever seen here. 
GOLDFINCH.—According to Taylor and others was fairly 
numerous here some twenty odd years ago, but the numbers 
have been much reduced by birdcatchers. It is now again 
picking up and increasing, especially since Taylor began to 
systematically shoot down the Jackdaws—one of the worst 
enemies to this and other small nests. 
By everybody locally the Goldfinch is called ‘ Red-cap.’ 
One was in song in East Lodge garden on 21st April, two pairs 
on roadside between there and Hornsea; pair in a garden in 
Hornsea on 26th. On 28th April I watched a pair building a 
Naturalist, 
