ROUGH NOTES IN EAST SUSSEX IN _ 1908. 
By Hucu WHISTLER. 
Amonest the woods and hills of Kast Sussex, within sight of 
the South Downs that form Beachy Head, is situate one of those 
happy hunting-grounds that warm a naturalist’s heart—an old 
English deer-park. The scene of these random notes (Ashburn- 
ham Park) is a particularly fine example of its kind—a thousand 
acres of miniature hill and valley. A deer-park for centuries, 
it is well stocked with timber—grand old oaks and beeches, with 
a good sprinkling of elms, a few groups of firs and some fine 
stone-pines. In the midst, surrounded by bracken, is set a 
picturesque old grey house, wherein resides the deer-keeper for 
the time being. It was my good fortune to receive the noble 
owner’s kind permission to wander at will over his property—a 
permission of which I was not slow to take advantage. 
April 13th.—A fine sunny day tempted me to commence 
operations, and I rode my bicycle over to one of the lodges, 
known locally as ‘‘ Tower Lodge” from its shape. In answer to 
my inquiry about Owls, the woman there told me that several 
were to be heard calling at nights in a big ridge of firs just out- 
side the park. A man had been at work woodcutting there one 
day, and after a time had happened to look up and see two 
Brown Owls in a tree above his head, which must have been 
sitting there for hours undisturbed by the noise he was making. 
She also said that once she had been taken to see a nest of 
young Owls in some rocks in the park. Setting off along the 
coach-road I came to a stone bridge built over a stream, which 
runs between steep banks, in such a way as to dam it and form 
a small pond. This pond has a fringe of coarse rushes—an 
abode beloved of Waterhens; on one side the ground forms a 
steep and very high bank, leaving a path around the water. 
Here amongst the drifts of dry leaves a Snake and some Lizards 
were sunning themselves; the Lizards darted under the leaves, 
