ORNITHOLOGICAL NOTES FROM ROMNEY MARSH. 247 



the Kentish Plover and Thickknee, it well nigh approaches 

 extinction, since the " Lydd Beach," the breeding resort of these 

 species and of several others, has long been threatened. In his 

 'Birds of East Kent,' Mr. George Dowker thus describes the 

 "Lydd Beach'": — " This extraordinary accumulation of stones is 

 not only the home of many rare birds, but is a perfect wilderness, 

 while a fauna and flora are found which are nowhere else to be 

 met with in the South-eastern corner of England. The beach, 

 which has been accumulating round Dungeness for many cen- 

 turies, is upwards of three miles in width at its broader part, 

 a stony desert relieved here and there by large ponds" (p. 86). 

 This locality can hardly at the present time be described as a 

 " wilderness," or " the home of many rare birds." 



The direct causes may be attributed to the increased firing of 

 both artillery and small arms during the height of the breeding 

 season, and also to the Dungeness railway, which has opened 

 out a considerable portion of it. On the other hand, there are 

 portions of the shore-line, between Pevensey and Dungeness, 

 quite as rich as they were in the days of Knox in the visits of 

 summer migrants that pass northwards to breed. 



On May 9th a female Temminck's Stint was obtained on the 

 Pevensey Levels, and during the following day a number of Bar- 

 tailed Godwits appeared near Rye Harbour. Several were shot. 

 The last of the Godwits were seen on May 28th, when a party of 

 five immature birds alighted on the sands at low water. One of 

 these, a male, was shot. This bird was still assuming the pale 

 plumage. 



Several Grey Plovers, with black breasts, were also obtained 

 on May 10th, and individuals of this species continued to arrive on 

 and off up to June 13th, when I saw two of them in company with 

 a Knot on the Midrips.* By the next day, however, all three 

 had disappeared. On May 22nd a flock of six passed over my 

 head. They were making in a northerly direction. 



A pair of Black-tailed Godwits appeared on May 18th on the 

 Pevensey Levels. This seems somewhat a favourite spot for 

 these birds. A pair were obtained in the same place last year on 

 May 11th. The Pevensey Levels are also mentioned by Knox in 

 regard to the occurrence of this species in Sussex. From May 



These are a series of shallow ponds on the " Lydd Beach." 



