276 president's address. 



I watched the building of the nest with very much interest. 

 The birds appeared to gather mud at the river, where it is to 

 be found of a more clayey consistency than in most parts of 

 Warkworth. This appeared to be taken into the crop and 

 brought up again in considerable pieces when it was being 

 attached to the nest. 



When the nest was completed one bird remained in it 

 during the day, but both appeared to occupy it during the 

 night; and the first thing generally to be heard on waking in 

 the morning was the cooing of the two birds. Lifting the 

 window blind generally discovered both in the nest. During 

 the day one bird appeared occupied in feeding the other. 

 On the 2 1 St of August the young birds apparently were 

 hatched, as I found the shell of one of the eggs lying below 

 the nest, from which it no doubt had been ejected by the 

 parent birds. After this both birds were occupied in con- 

 veying food to the nest, their visits being very frequent, and 

 sometimes at no greater interval than about a minute. 



I unfortunately had to leave the house in the beginning of 

 September before the young birds were on the wing, but I 

 made the best arrangements I could for their preservation. 

 The lateness of the nesting caused me some little fear that 

 the birds would not be sufficiently strong on the wing by the 

 period of migration ; but the Indian summer which has been 

 so conspicuous by contrast with the cold and damp of June, 

 July, and August, will, I trust, have been instrumental in 

 preserving for a greater length of time the food supplies of the 

 birds ; and I trust that these shortly will be returning again to 

 Warkworth. These birds would be very plentiful in the village, 

 but few hatch out their young, inasmuch as the nests are 

 always built against a window, and the villagers attach more 

 importance to the keeping clean of their windows than they 

 do to watching with any interest the doings of the birds. 



On the 29th of August the House Martins and Swallows 

 were gathering in flocks. I could see or hear nothing of the 

 Swifts, and thought they had gone; but the following morning 

 I found a small number circling round the Castle, 



