﻿NOTES 
  ON 
  DERBYSHIRE 
  ORNITHOLOGY 
  105 
  

  

  came 
  across 
  a 
  Woodcock's 
  nest 
  with 
  three 
  recently 
  hatched 
  

   young. 
  Three 
  nests 
  of 
  the 
  Grasshopper-Warbler 
  were 
  found 
  

   this 
  year 
  at 
  Repton 
  — 
  the 
  first, 
  with 
  five 
  eggs, 
  on 
  May 
  22nd 
  ; 
  the 
  

   second, 
  with 
  sis 
  eggs, 
  among 
  coarse 
  vegetation 
  on 
  low 
  ground 
  on 
  

   June 
  2nd 
  ; 
  and 
  the 
  third, 
  which 
  only 
  contained 
  three 
  eggs, 
  on 
  

   June 
  10th. 
  There 
  seems 
  to 
  be 
  much 
  variety 
  in 
  the 
  nesting- 
  

   sites 
  used 
  by 
  Sandpipers 
  in 
  this 
  district. 
  I 
  have 
  already 
  men- 
  

   tioned 
  (Zool. 
  1900, 
  p. 
  431) 
  a 
  nest 
  among 
  grass 
  by 
  the 
  side 
  of 
  the 
  

   North 
  Staffordshire 
  Railway, 
  only 
  eight 
  feet 
  from 
  the 
  metals. 
  

   This 
  year 
  a 
  nest 
  was 
  found 
  at 
  Osmaston, 
  right 
  in 
  the 
  middle 
  of 
  

   a 
  wheat 
  -field, 
  some 
  forty 
  yards 
  from 
  the 
  hedge, 
  and 
  nearly 
  a 
  

   quarter 
  of 
  a 
  mile 
  away 
  from 
  water. 
  A 
  third, 
  photographed 
  

   by 
  Mr. 
  R. 
  B. 
  Lodge 
  in 
  ' 
  Pictures 
  of 
  Bird 
  Life,' 
  p. 
  363, 
  was 
  well 
  

   sheltered 
  by 
  tall 
  burdocks 
  close 
  to 
  the 
  edge 
  of 
  the 
  River 
  Dove, 
  

   while 
  a 
  fourth 
  was 
  a 
  hollow 
  on 
  the 
  side 
  of 
  a 
  steep 
  little 
  bank, 
  

   and 
  was 
  approached 
  by 
  a 
  long 
  run. 
  

  

  On 
  May 
  27th 
  a 
  pair 
  of 
  Great 
  Spotted 
  Woodpeckers 
  had 
  just 
  

   finished 
  cutting 
  out 
  an 
  entirely 
  new 
  nesting- 
  hole 
  in 
  a 
  dead 
  stump 
  

   standing 
  in 
  the 
  Ramsor 
  Woods, 
  but 
  they 
  were 
  promptly 
  dis- 
  

   possessed 
  by 
  a 
  pair 
  of 
  Starlings, 
  apparently 
  the 
  same 
  birds 
  

   which 
  had 
  already 
  reared 
  one 
  brood 
  from 
  an 
  old 
  Woodpeckers' 
  

   hole 
  not 
  far 
  awa}\ 
  Although 
  I 
  removed 
  the 
  Starling's 
  nest, 
  the 
  

   Woodpeckers 
  would 
  not 
  return 
  to 
  their 
  hole, 
  but 
  took 
  possession 
  

   of 
  an 
  old 
  boring 
  in 
  another 
  dead 
  tree 
  quite 
  forty 
  feet 
  from 
  the 
  

   ground, 
  and 
  succeeded 
  in 
  bringing 
  off 
  their 
  brood 
  without 
  further 
  

   molestation. 
  Not 
  far 
  from 
  these 
  woods 
  Mr. 
  Lodge 
  and 
  I 
  came 
  

   across 
  a 
  fine 
  Grass- 
  Snake, 
  only 
  an 
  inch 
  short 
  of 
  three 
  feet 
  long, 
  

   on 
  June 
  2nd. 
  These 
  reptiles 
  are 
  by 
  no 
  means 
  common 
  in 
  the 
  

   Dove 
  Valley. 
  * 
  

  

  On 
  June 
  8th 
  I 
  visited 
  the 
  Swift 
  colony 
  at 
  Ashburne, 
  and 
  at 
  

   once 
  saw 
  that 
  something 
  was 
  wrong. 
  There 
  were 
  hardly 
  any 
  

   birds 
  about, 
  and 
  on 
  examination 
  I 
  found 
  that 
  there 
  were 
  dead 
  

   Swifts 
  in 
  nearly 
  every 
  nest-hole. 
  Altogether 
  from 
  seven 
  nests 
  

   I 
  took 
  out 
  eleven 
  dead 
  Swifts, 
  which 
  had 
  evidently 
  been 
  there 
  for 
  

   some 
  time, 
  as 
  they 
  were 
  much 
  eaten 
  by 
  maggots. 
  Two 
  of 
  the 
  

   nesting-holes 
  appeared 
  to 
  be 
  still 
  occupied, 
  but 
  there 
  were 
  no 
  

   eggs, 
  and 
  only 
  four 
  birds 
  were 
  to 
  be 
  seen 
  in 
  the 
  vicinity. 
  Pre- 
  

   sumably 
  the 
  very 
  cold 
  and 
  inclement 
  weather 
  of 
  May 
  and 
  the 
  

   consequent 
  dearth 
  of 
  insect-life 
  had 
  caused 
  this 
  wholesale 
  

  

  