64 WHITLOCK : BIRD NOTES FROM THE MID-TRENT VALLEY. 
miles below Nottingham. An adult male was also reported at 
the same time. All the foregoing species remained on the 
Trent some time after the frost broke up, and on one occasion 
I counted upwards of one hundred ducks on the wing at the 
same time. Of breeding species I have little to record, though 
there must have been a nice number of the common wild duck 
hatched. I frequently saw flights of over sixty in the autumn 
months of the year. 
Skylark (A/auda arvensis). Previous to the setting-in of the frost 
a constant stream of these birds was passing over Nottingham 
towards the south for several days. Those that remained were 
very wild. 
Reed Bunting (Zmberiza scheniclus). Contrary to my usual 
experience, I found this species pretty common all through 
the winter. They frequented the towing path in company with 
Tree Sparrows (Passer montanus), another species usually very 
scarce during the winter. The latter, however, were by no 
means numerous. 
Twite (/ringilla flavirostris). I met with a small party on 
February 18th. The call-note sounded like ‘ chillip, chillip.’ 
Lesser Redpoll (Zinota rufescens). This species nested with us 
as usual, and in the autumn I met with a little flock feeding on 
the seeds of the greater willow-herb. 
With regard to the arrival of spring migrants, I should sum 
up the result of my observations as showing that whilst 
individuals were early, the main body were a little later than 
usual. The Pied Wagtails (A/ozacilia yarrelli’) began to return 
about the middle of March, and I heard the first Chiffchaff 
(Phylloscopus rufus) on the 25th of the same month. I sawa 
White Wagtail (JZ. a/ba) on April 1st, and on the following day 
I saw a single Yellow Wagtail (JZ raii) flying, rather high up, 
to the south-west, wind light, S.E. to S., and also a Sand 
Martin (Cottle riparia) flying in the same direction. On 
April 3rd I saw five more Sand Martins and another Yellow 
Wagtail, but in the evening the weather changed, the wind 
veering to N.E., with a great fall in temperature. An improve- 
ment set in on the 7th, and on the 8th I saw a few more of the 
same species, and also a Swallow (Hirundo rustica) and a 
Wheatear (Saxicola enanthe). The evening was warm, and 
I noted a flock of 60 or 70 Sand Martins passing to the south- | 
west. A few Willow Wrens (Phyl/oscopus trochilus) had arrived 
by the oth, and many parties of Yellow Wagtails passed by on 
Naturalist, 
