58 Bolam: The Natural History of Hornsea Mere. 
and ascertained that there were 32 occupied. On 6th May, 
and again two days later, I counted 33 nests, all containing 
young, and there were two more apparently not at the time 
occupied, though beneath one of them I picked up an egg 
recently sucked (no doubt by Rooks) which had been quite 
fresh. Many of the young were at this date almost fledged, 
but in several nests they were yet quite small. On 17th May 
a fledged young one, hardly able to fly, was caught in the park, 
having no doubt attempted to leave the wood too soon, perhaps 
scared by the Rook-shooting party that day. I saw young 
abroad almost daily after this, though it was quite ten days 
later before the bulk of them had quitted their nests, and it was 
not till the beginning of June that they began to be seen 
numerously on the fringes of the reed-beds, and fishing round 
the Mere. When in the Heronry Wood, or ‘ Jungle,’ on 27th 
June, I disturbed many fledged young, roosting with some of 
their parents, in considerable gatherings, on the ground beneath 
the trees; and found in one or two places, several yards of 
‘Flagging’ (the local name for reed-grass, etc.) quite paddled 
down by them. At one time on this occasion, I counted fifty- 
‘seven Herons on the wing, above me. 
On 14th July there were six nests in the Heronry, all within 
quite a small area, containing late young ones ; in two of them 
the young being practically fledged, some of them sitting out 
on the branches near their nests ; in a third they were slightly 
less forward ; in two others about half grown; and in the 
sixth quite small, apparently not above a few days hatched. 
I was unable to say that some of these nests had not been 
counted in my estimate of thirty-three of 6th May, but at 
least one or two of them had been built since that date, and 
one of them was that beneath which I had picked up the sucked 
egg. 
Throughout my stay at Wassand numbers of Herons might 
be seen every evening leaving the Heronry just before dusk, 
while after dark the loud ‘ franks’ of yet passing birds testified 
to still later departures. Most of them shaped a south-westerly 
course, nearly over Wassand, but many also went west and 
north-west. During the first few weeks of my visit practically 
all fishing was done in these directions, and at a distance, a 
Heron being rarely seen on the Mere sides. As the demands 
of the young became more pressing, however, the old birds 
began to do more fishing nearer home, and, latterly, considerable 
numbers of both adults and young might be seen sitting about 
the fringes of the reed-beds, in many of the more open courses, 
and elsewhere round the borders of the Mere. At dawn and 
dusk I have seen them there in dozens. Frogs were then numer- 
ous there, and probably formed a chief attraction, as also were 
eels in several places. In the early mornings I used frequently 
Naturalist, 
