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SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



BIRD LIFE OX A LOWLAND LOCH. 

 By Robert Godfrey. 



/^N Ma5" 8th last, I set out to examine a few 

 ^'^ lochs m the Forth area, with a view to taking 

 a census of the wildfowl at that date upon them, 

 and thus gaining a clue to the number of birds 

 about to nest or alreadj" nesting on each for the 

 season. The first loch visited proved to be but 

 meagrely tenanted, containing onlj- two pairs and 

 an odd female of the tufted duck, with the less 

 significant waterhens, Uttle grebes and coots ; but 

 the second was tenanted by some species of interest, 

 and consequentl}' detained me by its side during 

 the remainder of my available time. The object 

 of this paper is to describe briefly the Ufe on this 

 latter loch. 



Crossing a ploughed field and passing through 

 the low thick fox cover that borders the loch, I 

 emerged on one of these spots, where, could 

 the fear of intrusion be wholly dispelled, I could 

 linger as part of the scene for many hours. A 

 mist was rising from the water, but the sun was 

 coming out behind me in his mid-day strength, and 

 a strange peaceful silence brooded over the loch 

 surface. A finely-varied herbage covered the area 

 between the plantation and the water, and a line 

 of iris flags grew on the verge. The wUlovv-wren, 

 the lark, and the reed-bunting were all in song 

 beside me, each strain forgotten in the whole ; the 

 coots, disturbed by the unwonted appearance of an 

 intruder, swam from the edge, and a pair of tufted 

 ducks, so tame normally, rose and flew to another 

 point, whilst a shoveller-drake crossed overhead 

 to a patch of sheltering vvaterplants nearer the 

 road, and, alighting there bej-ond my range, 

 remained undiscovered when I went in pursuit. 

 Coots were abundant, and a single waterhen rose, 

 and peeweeps, redshanks and curlew were oc- 

 casionally heard. I zigzaged across the damp long 

 herbage that forms a splendid foreshore, in hope 

 of rousing some sitting duck, but I found nothing 

 save sucked eggs of coot and waterhen. Towards 

 the middle and upper end of the loch numbers 

 of ducks thickly dotted the surface, and a motlej- 

 crew were forming a line upon the water when 

 they were disturbed by the sudden report of a 

 gun, and meanwhile dispersed. I v'.alked slowly 

 along the sheltered bank between the plantation 

 and the loch, and, in my want of success at finding 

 nests, I looked for a suitable resting-place from 

 which to note the loch's inhabitants. The mist 

 had meanwhile been dispelled by the strong sun, 

 and the loch and its surroundings afi^orded a fine 

 display beneath his genial rays. Far along the 

 loch-side a second fir plantation grew nearer the 



water, and afforded, in the thickness of its growth, 

 a temporary ambush, from which I might de- 

 termine the number of birds present. Thither I 

 accordingly repaired, and creeping under the dense 

 firs till near the outlook on the loch, I settled in 

 concealment amongst them. Opposite me, at a 

 short distance from shore, was a small island 

 covered with grass and shrubs, and proving a very 

 attractive haunt for the birds of the loch, from the 

 swan dowmwards ; whilst just beyond me a small 

 baj-, lying in the lee of the island, acted as a 

 further inducement to the ducks. Here the mallards 

 were resting in the shallows, and bj^ their fearless- 

 ness encouraging other birds to . approach. I 

 carefully surveyed the loch, and coimted twenty- 

 four pairs of tufted ducks on the surface, but failing 

 to discern an}- shovellers, I saw- the necessity of 

 moving nearer the loch-head, and examining more 

 critically the species on the edge of the enormous 

 reed bed there. 



My appearance was the signal for the swans 

 showing their resentment bj' coming forward to 

 drive me from their quarters. I considered myself 

 safe from their molestation after I had passed round 

 the baj', but before long, whilst paying heed to a 

 robin near my side, I was startled by the swishing 

 of the male swan as he flew along the surface in 

 my direction. I was ready to shp into the wood 

 if he approached too closely, but I did not require 

 to yield to such an unceremonious retreat, and, 

 moving on a httle farther, I sat down on a tree 

 stump and rested quietly to allow of the loch's 

 inhabitants assuming their normal conditions, and 

 acting without fear before me. I intermittently 

 scoured the surface with my glass, and succeeded 

 in picking np another shoveller, at a great distance, 

 hovrever, from me. After a lengthened wait, I was 

 at length gratified b\" seeing a shoveller-drake close 

 to the island, swimming at hi? ease, and groping 

 in the water for food, and finall)" resting on the 

 verge of the isle. His fine display of colour, 

 dark-blue head, white breast, and chestnut belly, 

 all shov.Ti off to their fullest advantage by the mid- 

 day sun, rendered him a match for the shell-duck 

 in beaut}-. 



Often in the fields it happens that when one's 

 whole attention is required on an object, other 

 objects seem just then to come before him and 

 urge theij own claims ; and so It happened here. 

 A carrion-crow had driven ancther bird to shelter 

 in the wood behind me, and was now wildly 

 clamouring to and fro above the plantation, making 

 me anxious to know the object of his concern, but 



