Ornithological Notes. By George Bolam. 3 47 



Nursery, Berwick. The weather had previously been of the most barren 

 and wintry description, and the poor bird had no doubt paid the penalty 

 of its over-confidence in our treacherous climate. 



On 8fch May 1892, a bird in similar plumage was observed catching flies 

 in the garden at the Elms ; and on 26fch April 1890, one was killed at 

 Castle Hills — both near Berwick. On 16th May 1889, one was seen by the 

 Rev. Charles B. Carr on one of the Fame Islands; and in the same year 

 a nest was reported from the dene below Newmoor House, in the parish 

 of Felton. Early in 1888 one was shot on the coast at Cresswell ; and on 

 21st May of that year I saw a male in full song on the borders of 

 Kyloe Wood. 



On 17th June 1888, when enjoying a walk through the Park at Alnwick 

 in company with my friend Mr W. T. Hindmarsh, P.L.S., we came upon a 

 pair of Pied Flycatchers on the banks of the Aln near Hulne Abbey, and 

 after watching them for a short time found the nest, in which they were 

 engaged in feeding a family of about half grown young ones. This was 

 placed in a hole in an old alder tree fifteen or sixteen feet from the ground 

 and just large enough to admit the birds, which were very tame, and came 

 exceedingly close to me when I climbed up to the nest. In structure the 

 nest bore a close resemblance to those formerly described (B.N.C., vol. xi., 

 p. 262), the broad dry leaves of the Woodrush {Luzula xylvatica) being the 

 material most freely used in its construction. 



Hawfinch. Coccothraustes vulgaris, Pallas. 



When the late Mr Hancock wrote his " Catalogue of the Birds of Nor- 

 thumberland and Durham," in 1874, the Hawfinch was considered " a rare 

 casual visitant," which had not been " known to have bred in either 

 county ;" but of late years it has been increasing its range northwards, and 

 is now known to breed somewhat regularly upon Tyneside. The first nest 

 in that district appears to have been found at Winlaton in co. Durham, on 

 23rd May 1884 ; and another taken near the same place two days afterwards 

 was exhibited with the eggs it contained, by Mr Thomas Thompson, one 

 of the Honorary Secretaries of the Club, at a meeting of the Tyneside 

 Naturalists' Field Club, held in that month. At a later meeting the same 

 gentleman also exhibited a young bird, which had killed itself by flying 

 against a window at Gibside, in the autumn of the same year. In 1891 

 an adult bird was picked up in a dying condition at Trench Hall, Gates- 

 head, about the end of May ; a female being obtained at Whickham and a 

 male at Hexham during the same month. On 28th July in that year two 

 young birds were shot jit Hulne Abbey in Alnwick Park, and this must be 

 put down as the first recorded instance of the breeding of the species so 

 far north. The gamekeeper, who lives at the Abbey, had some days pre- 

 viously noticed, with alarm, the havoc which was being made amongst 

 some peas in his garden ; and being a south countryman, and accustomed 

 to the habits of these birds, remarked that he thought the dejn-edators 

 must be Hawfinches. He was not then aware of the rarity of the species 

 in Northumberland, and a careful look-out being kept, a brood of lately 



