Effects of the Winter of 1878-9, by James Hardy. 129 



birds were visible during the summer ; and it is doubtful if any bred . They 

 were plentiful in the preceding autumn. The scarcity was noticed elsewhere. 

 Flying for refuge to the South of England, immense numbers became victims 

 to the bird-catchers. Six thrushes on a warm part of the sea-coast, where 

 the sun's rays had melted the frozen soil, had associated to dig for worms, 

 &e., as their congeners had done in the depth of winter. These were 

 probably all the neighbourhood could supply, as they are quite thinned out, 

 the migrants not having returned. Several lapwings were noticed to-day 

 going off to the hills in a body ; others spread down to the sea-side on the 

 coast-fields. On the 29th, which was fresh and sunny, they had disappeared, 

 as well as the curlews and thrushes. 



On April 1, wild ducks were again numerous at sea, but the golden- eyes (?) 

 had left, except a single bird. No redshanks were seen, nor afterwards did 

 they appear. April 2. No thrushes anywhere. Long-tailed field-mouse 

 dead in the open field. Turned out the skeletons of two redwings that had 

 crept into an aperture under a stone wall, and perished. Three pied wagtails 

 present. April 4th, two grey wagtails arrived ; fourteen eider ducks seen in 

 a flock at sea. April 5th, a wheatear arrived. April 7th, another grey 

 wagtail ; four or five wheatears on the coast ; another party of six more to 

 the north ; nine or ten wild geese passed. Sea very stormy. April 12, three 

 thrushes seen ; a single wren visible. April 13th and 14th, snow fell ; on 

 the 15th the coast fields were cleared of snow. A single gold-crested wren 

 was seen among furze in Oldcambus dean. This was the only one visible for 

 the season. The fir-tree tops were tenantless during the summer, so far as 

 regarded this bird. One ring-ouzel appeared ; and several more wheat-ears. 

 Ten eider ducks at sea, male and female equal in numbers. A very large 

 flock of wild geese passed in the evening, the largest seen for many years. 

 They haunted the fields at Penmanshiel and Howpark for three weeks, doing 

 much damage to the grass. 



April 16, I went to examine some miles of wood, on the banks above the 

 Pease burn. Birds were almost absent, and only one thrush was heard. It 

 appeared like a deserted part of creation, waiting to be repeopled. One was 

 reminded of an Irish record of the year 903, when there was such a mortality 

 of beasts and birds, " ut non audita fuerit vox merulse aut turdi hoc anno." 

 {Annales Inisfalenses). Some of the hedges were peeled with rabbits, and 

 they had attacked the holly, ivy, sloe, wild brier, ash, mountain-ash, hazel, 

 and elm, but not to any extent ; silver fir and larch branches cut down were 

 peeled, as well as those of other trees. Only the remains of one dead bird 

 noticed, a fieldfare, nor were there any by the foot-paths. They had avoided 

 the woods, which were deeply covered on the ground with snow. A greater 

 tit seen, but no other kind of titmouse. April 17th, a single blue ox-eye 

 seen ; first humble bee appeared. 



April 18th, examined the sea-banks between Eedheugh and Dowlaw Moors. 

 Dead fieldfares were scattered by the burn- sides, and among the beds of 

 woodrush, and the willow-scrubs. They had resorted there at night, after 

 passing the day on the turnip fields above, and had perished. A dead lark 

 and grouse were observed. There were no wrens on the coast, this being a 



