1918.] reports. 97 



Report of the Ornithological Section, 1918. 



The nesting season of 1918 was on the whole, from the weather 

 point of view, a much more genial time for the birds than had 

 been that of 1917. The latter was a very laggard spring — the 

 coldest spring decidedly at Guernsey for at least 24 years — and 

 it followed what had been by a long way the coldest and most 

 bitter winter experienced since the famous arctic conditions of 

 1894-95. 



The mean temperature of the 1917 spring (March-May) 

 was 45*5 deg., that of 1918 was exactly normal, viz., 47*7 deg. 

 If we include the month of June which in 1917 was quite a 

 hot period, but in 1918 cool, the very inclement weather of the 

 1917 spring-time becomes lost to view to a great extent by an 

 equalizing of temperature, for we then get 48*7 deg. for 1917 

 and 49*5 deg. for 1918 as against a normal of 49*8 deg. 



In both years, however, but in 1917 especially, April was 

 excessively cold and its effects on nesting operations marked. 

 May fortunately redressed the balance to some extent each year 

 (in 1918 principally) much to the comfort and enjoyment of 

 man as well as bird. 



Compared with the lot of birds in England and on the 

 Continent, even indeed in Jersey where cold winters are more 

 severe than with us, our feathered songsters enjoy great immu- 

 nity from suffering and shortage of food the result of frost and 

 snow. In the hard winter of 1916-17 to which I have referred, 

 the destruction of bird life from this cause was enormous in 

 England alone. Bad as matters were in this island little beyond 

 a scarcity of food and the general discomfort occasioned by 

 sharp cold, was experienced. Very little loss of life occurred, 

 I believe. For our friends the birds no less than for ourselves, 

 Guernsey is, comparatively speaking, a little paradise in severe 

 winters and a Garden of Eden each returning summer-time. 



Last year I referred to the lamented death of a worker in the 

 field of ornithology — Mr. J. S. Hocart, of Les Mielles, Yale — 

 whose observations and notes had been a feature of these 

 annual reports for years. I have now to lament the death of a 

 very active worker in several branches of Natural History 

 including ornithology. I refer to the late Mr. E. D. Marquand, 

 A.L.S., who passed on, sincerely regretted by a large circle of 

 friends, on February 16th, 1918, in his 70th year. 



Mr. Marquand had for some years ceased to reside in 

 Guernsey, but during the time of his residence here he was as 

 hard-working a member of our Society as could be found, and 

 his departure from the island created a gap difficult to fill. In 

 another part of this year's Transactions will be found a record 

 of deceased's activities as a Naturalist ; here I only speak of 

 his work in connection with the Ornithological Section, and 

 must do so briefly. 



