BIRD NOTES FROM CHESHIRE. 173 



when it flew near the water, and from below, when it passed just 

 above our level. Its size, the roundness of its wings, the dark 

 markings on its nape, and the very dark colouring on the under 

 surface of its wings were noticeable, but what struck us most 

 was the entire absence of black upon the primaries and upper 

 surface of the wings when seen from above. The tail was quite 

 white and the legs bright red. Judging by the pureness of its 

 grey mantle and the absence of a tail-bar, it was an adult bird. 



Gulls, as usual, occurred inland in some numbers. We met 

 with no Great Black-backed Gulls away from the tidal waters, 

 though we saw a few on both the Dee and Mersey estuaries. 

 Black-headed Gulls are now so common on the inland waters 

 that the presence of fifty or sixty at a time is hardly worthy of 

 special notice. At all seasons of the year this semi-marine bird 

 is to be met with on some of the meres and " flashes," and it is 

 frequently abundant on flooded meadows and in the fields of 

 Cheshire. From time to time mature and immature Herring- 

 Gulls and Lesser Black-backs visited the different waters, and 

 Common Gulls were not infrequent. Two, and for a time four, 

 frequented Tatton from the end of November until March. 



There were perhaps not so many winter Ducks upon the 

 inland waters as usual ; the numbers of the different species 

 fluctuated considerably, but in such a well-watered county the 

 birds undoubtedly move from mere to mere, so that it is unsafe 

 to say that only certain species are present at any particular 

 time. Mallards, in considerable numbers, use the meres as 

 diurnal resting-places; early in October the flocks began to 

 frequent the waters ; in February and March their numbers 

 decreased. At the end of November there were perhaps five 

 hundred Mallards regularly on Tatton; and on Jan. 17th, during 

 the short but hard frost, when Rostherne was practically the 

 only open water, the surface of this mere was dotted by thousands 

 of wildfowl, the great majority of which were Mallards. 



Throughout the whole season we only met with a single 

 Shoveler, a drake which consorted with the Mallards on Bud- 

 worth during the second week in December. The rarity of this 

 Duck is noticeable, for in the winter of 1901-1902 there were 

 frequently one or two with the Mallards on both Tatton and 

 Budworth meres. 



