Nesting Notes from Scampston for 1908 .



147



Californian Quails may be hatched and reared in an

incubator in the ordinary way, but this entails much more

personal supervision and trouble.



NESTING NOTES FROM SCAMPSTON FOR 1908.


By W. H. St. Quintin, F.Z.S., M.B.O.U.


If not too late, I may perhaps be allowed to give some

account of breeding results amongst my birds last summer

(1908).


In the first place the Ravens beat all their previous records

by rearing five very fine young birds, which safely left the nest

and are now dispersed amongst various members of the Society.

As soon as February comes in, the old pair are impatient to

begin nest building. The hen alone feeds the young during the

first week. I have never before, in a season, had so many nests

amongst my Waterfowl. Except Shovellers, which have bred

here in other years, all the commoner freshwater British ducks,

as well as Mandarins and Carolinas, went to nest. The most

interesting kinds reared were Eider, Nyroca or White Eye, Pin¬

tail, American Wigeon, and Garganey. Besides a pinioned birds’

brood, we hatched eggs found in a wild Garganey’s nest

(recorded in “ The Naturalist ”) and reared six young birds.


A fine hybrid Tragopan, T. satyra x T. tcmmincki, was

reared, and is now gradually showing colour. I am not very fond

of hybrids, but having a fine male T. satyra and no hen, I mated

him with an unattached female T. temmencki. This and other

Tragopans’ nests were, as in other seasons, built off the ground,

In spruce, or yew trees.


My poor old Snowy Owl, in spite of advancing years (she

and her mate were brought from Norway by a kind friend in the

summer of 1891) went to nest, and a young one was reared till it

was a week old. Then, unfortunately, as has happened more

than once lately, the female went amiss, and the young one was

neglected.


As with other Raptores, the burden of procuring prey, and

of bringing it to the nest falls, in the main, upon the male



