g 6 On the Breeding Birds on Lough Neagh.


noticed one of the men to my right stooping down, and when I

got up to him, I found he had got a Reed Bunting’s beautiful

little nest with 5 eggs, and lovely they looked, the ground stone

colour, with purple-brown streaks and blotches.


We now walked on a little farther and found a Sandpiper’s

nest, built in the side of a clump of rushes, quite differently

situated from those I found a year or two ago in Scotland, which

were built in the sides of steep banks.


Our next find was some nests of the Common Tern built

close to water on the short grass, containing two eggs each ; and

a little way on we found a nest or two of the Black-headed Gull

constructed of withered reeds.


On the way back I found another Reed Buntings’ nest

in the centre of a tuft of rushes, which would have escaped my

notice had not the bird flown off right from under my feet.

It was a tiny little nest, made of grass and lined with hair. Just

then the dog brought us a young Snipe just able to fly ; its

markings were exquisite ; dark velvet brown, light brown, and

golden yellow on the long feathers coming from the base of the

wing ; the dog had not hurt it in the least, and, after examining it,

we let it away. It flew for a yard or two, then dived into the

rushes and was quickly lost to sight.


On the western side of the island we found nests of Coots

and Waterhens in most exposed places along the shore.


It was now two o’clock and away to the westward had

gathered a heavy black cloud portending both wind and rain.

We waded out to our little boat, the men got to the oars and pre¬

pared for a long pull dead to windward, to the next island we

intended visiting. After we had started a while down came the

rain followed by a strong breeze of wind. Soon white waves

were breaking all around 11s, and every now and then a sea would

come over the side ; however here we were, and we had to make

the best of it ; between the rain coming down and the sea

coming over it did not prove the dryest of entertainments.


I11 about three-quarters of an hour we again hit bottom,

and waded ashore on a small island whose name I do not know.

Here we found any amount of Redshanks flying about and

screaming over-head. We came on a number of old and new



