THE HAWKEYE ORNITHOLOGIST AND OOLOGIST. 



BIRD NESTING IN THE NORTH OF 

 ENGLAND. 



BY WALTER RAINE, TORONTO, CANADA. 



the 



™ 5 ONDER is Pennyghent, 



highest mountain in Yorkshire. 



fourth 

 It 



is seven miles away but appears as if it- 

 were not. more than four miles off. Among 

 those crags facing us the Peregrine Falcon 

 has its nest. The last time I visited Pen- 

 nyghent, the birds had young, and, as I ap- 

 proached the front of the cliff, they grew 

 very bold, darting over my head and 

 screaming fiercely. The nest is built of 

 sticks and heather, half way down the cliff 

 on a ledge of rock, and can only be got at 

 by being lowered with ropes from above. 

 Two or three pairs of Peregrines also nest 

 at Sedberg, although much persecuted by 

 the gamekeepers. There is one nest usually 

 occupied by a pair of Ravens early in 

 March, and, as soon as the young have left, 

 a pair of Peregrines take possession and 



A friend of 

 another 



of Peregrine Falcon's, both taken from the 

 same nest in one season. How beautiful 



lay their eggs ecii'ly in Ma} 7 , 

 mine has a set of Raven's eggs anci 



are the eggs of the Falcon! Four sets in 

 my collection vary somewhat in color and 

 markings; the ground color of some is 

 creamy white, others pinky, richly spotted 

 and blotched with reddish brown and choc- 

 olate, whilst other specimens are like large 

 eggs of the Kestril flawk, of an uniform 

 rich brown, mottled at the larger end with 

 dark chocolate brown. The handsomest 

 set I ever saw were the four eggs that were 

 taken from the Raven's nest before men- 

 tioned. The ground color was a pale, 

 pinky red, capped at the larger end of the 

 eggs with rich, crimson brown. The num- 

 ber of eggs is three or four; average size, 

 2.10x1.70. Both the Peregrine and Raven 

 will soon cease to exist in Yorkshire, as 



they are shot and trapped by the game- 

 keepers because they kill a few grouse, a 

 most heinous offence in their sight and 

 those by whom they are employed. 



The Common European Buzzard is be 

 coming scarce, but still a few pairs may be 

 found nesting among the limestone cliffs, 

 Their nests are made of sticks and heather, 

 and in this district seldom contain more 

 than two eggs, which are similar in size and 

 color to the eggs of the Red-shouldered 

 Hawk. This species is more plentiful 

 among the Cumberland Hills a few miles 

 away. 



But to proceed along our journey over 

 the moors, we arrive at Gaping Ghyll Hole, 

 also called Devil's Hole, a vertical cavern 

 of unknown depth. A courageous young 

 man was once lowered three hundred feet 

 down this awful pit, but, owing to the wa- 

 ter pouring into it from all sides, lie was 

 compelled to be drawn up again without 

 adding any more information as to its 

 depth. The mouth of this pit is some 

 twenty feet in diameter and reminds one of 

 the center of some volcano. We collected 

 some large stones, and, throwing them into 

 the pit, we hear them bound from ledge to 

 ledge in their descent, each time growing 

 fainter, until the sound is lost and we ex- 

 claim, "What a fearful depth it must be," 

 and shudder at the thoughts of falling into 

 this place, out of which we could not be 



taken dead or alive. 



Our watches tell us it is noon, so we sit 



down and partake of some refreshments 

 brought along with us, to which we do jus- 

 tice after our long tramp over the heather 

 clad hills. 



Down in the valley below lies Clapham, 

 with its wonderful cave three miles long; 

 and while we are at rest, I will tell you of 

 a visit I made to this cave with a church 

 choir party a few years ago. On entering 

 the month of the cave, the two guides gave 



