CAPTURES AND FIELD REPORT FOR N. DEVON. 99 
measured ‘over five feet.” Iam indebted to Mr. T. C. Burrow 
for most of this information, and several other sightseers have 
borne witness to its length, most of them saying that it was over 
seventy feet in length, which it very probably was. Hundreds 
of people from all parts have gone to see it. The rocks for 
many hundreds of yards are white with the fat rubbed off as it 
was washed along by the current before being stranded. 
Dolphins and Porpoises are common. One of the latter was 
found sporting in the River Taw, only two miles below Barn- 
staple. 
Brrps. 
Dec: 27th, 1906.— This afternoon I saw a pair of Green 
Sandpipers on the Taw near Tawstock Woods. They occur here 
all through the winter months. The severe frost and fall of 
snow have sent into the valley numbers of Wild Geese. Wild 
Swans have also been seen in the estuary. A longshoreman got 
close to two Swans which were engaged in a fight. Five Swans 
were observed frequenting the Braunton Duck-ponds, and two 
were shot. They proved to be Whoopers (Cygnus musicus). 
Others, again, were seen in the marshes opposite the Barnstaple 
Town Station. A flock of fifteen were observed at Bude. I found 
seven Little Grebes in a flock on the river at Wrafton. 
Jan. 1st, 1907.—I received a Golden-eye duck shot on the 
Taw. 
- 18th.—A White-fronted Goose in a Barnstaple poulterer’s 
shop-window. On inquiry I found that it had been shot at 
Bideford. 
Feb. Tth.—EHxamined an immature Smew (Mergus albellus) 
shot on the Taw. Several Tufted Scaup on the Duck-ponds at 
Wrafton. Ever since the snow the Peewits have been in enor- 
mous numbers. 
10th.—Watched a Dipper feeding. It flew out from the side 
of the river, and hovered over the water like a Kingfisher, and 
then it dived in. I waited for it to reappear, but it did not rise 
to the surface of the water like a Duck, but on reaching the bed 
of the river it must have got a hold on the little stones in spite 
of the current, and then walked along the bottom to the shore, 
where the first thing I noticed was its white breast. Later in the 
afternoon I saw this same bird swimming on the surface of the 
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