Proceedings of Provincial Scientific Socteties. 259 
direction was very difficult to define. Earlier in the evening 
there had been a tremendous rainstorm accompanied by 
S.W. gale. 
Three pairs of woodcock have nested successfully at Aldby 
Park (Stamford Bridge) and in two instances the four young 
ones got safely away. The first young ones were discovered on 
May ist. On April 19th and 26th I visited the heronry at 
Moreby Park and found there was an increase in the number 
of the nests this year, the total being 23. Several of the nests 
were examined and found to contain four or five young birds 
yarying from seven days to fourteen days old. In company 
with Mr. Riley Fortune, I visited the heronry again on May 
3rd ; many of the young birds were then fully fledged, but all 
were sitting in the nests. On attempting to photograph them 
we found they were able to fly short distances and no doubt 
most of the youngsters would be on the wing by May 6th or 7th. 
One young bird missing his perch came down 50 or 60 feet to 
the ground. He then disgorged his last meal, which consisted 
of about 20 sticklebacks. Early in May some heavy rainstorms 
resulted in the flooding of the Derwent Valley and caused the 
destruction of hundreds of nests of snipe and redshanks. It is 
possible many of these birds will nest again as the eggs destroyed 
were mostly freshly laid, except in the case of green plovers 
which either were almost on the point of hatching or the young 
were already abroad. Several nests of wild duck, teal and 
shoveller eggs were spoiled, and for some weeks afterwards three 
pairs of shovellers were frequenting the neighbourhood of 
East Cottingwith. A few pairs of these handsome rare ducks 
are nesting at Skipwith and I trust they will be successful ; 
nearly all the nests last year were destroyed by foxes. At 
Kirkham Abbey, on May 28th, I saw a nest of the grey wagtail. 
containing five eggs. This is a rather rare species locally ; also 
two pairs of coal tits, both of which were feeding young. In the 
neighbourhood the bullfinch and tree creeper were nesting. 
or 
The Sixtieth Annual Report and Transactions of the Nottingham 
Naturalists’ Society is commendably local in its scope. The Rev. H. Friend 
gives his second paper on ‘ Annelid Hunting in Notts.’ Dr. Swinnerton 
writes on ‘ The Palmistry of the Rocks,’ describing fossil footprints from 
the Permians of Mansfield, and Dr. A. J. Jackson has a lengthy paper 
“On Some New and Obscure British Spiders,’ which is well illustrated. 
The Report and Proceedings of the Manchester Field Naturalists and 
Archeologists Society for the year 1912, published 1913, pp. xvi. + So. 
This, the fifty-third year’s report, is an account of the Society’s meetings 
and excurisons, largely historical, mainly botanical. All are in abstract 
and many have little reference to the Manchester area. Still, the volume 
may bring pleasant memories to those who took part in the excursions. 
We are glad to notice that the advertisements (for pianos and optical 
instruments) are confined to two pages, but unfortunately one of those 
cannot be torn out as it is printed on the back of some matter which 
presumably should be kept in the volume, as the page is numbered. 
1913 July 1. 
