BEPOET OF FIELD MEETINGS. 273 



ness I am indebted for the following interesting list of rare 

 birds that have nested in the neighbourhood within the last 

 few years. The lake which lies to the east of the Rothbury 

 road is the larger of the two, but its banks are bare, and it has 

 not the beauty of its neighbour. At both ends of this lake 

 the bulrush {Typha latifolid) is very abundant, and at the 

 western end it is mingled with the handsome water dock 

 {Rumex hydrolapathum). Other plants seen during the day 

 were Paris quadrifolia and Rubus cceshis, both in fruit. After 

 a ramble through the woods and around the lake, Mrs. Coxon 

 entertained the company to afternoon tea, and one of the most 

 pleasant excursions of the year came to an end. 



Rare Birds nesting or taken about Rothley Lake 

 AND the Rothbury Hills. 



Raven. Nested in 1901 in the Key Heugh (a romantic spot 

 on Sir John Riddell's moors between Whitefield and Darden 

 Lough). The Ravens were first seen preparing their nest on 

 1 8th February. At this date snow was lying thickly. The 

 nest was revisited at the end of March, and it contained three 

 eggs. One egg was taken. The birds reared two young, and 

 on the loth of May these were taken from the nest, one being 

 kept and tamed by Wm. Bell, then keeper for Edward Newton, 

 Esq., of Hepplewoodside. This bird was alive last autumn 

 at Forest Hall, near Newcastle, and is a very fine specimen. 

 Sir John Riddell's keeper got the other young bird from the 

 nest, but it died shortly afterwards. In 1902 the ravens nested 

 on a rock on the Simonside Hills, and reared four young. In 

 1903 and 1904 ravens were frequently seen, but so far as I am 

 aware their nest was not located. As late as Wednesday, the 

 i8th of January, 1905, I heard the raven calling to the north 

 of the Rothbury Hills. 



Peregrine Falcon. In 1902 a pair of these birds nested in 

 the Key Heugh, not far from the nesting place of the raven. 

 The female was destroyed, and the nest taken with three eggs. 

 The eggs were hard set, and therefore of little value from a 



