June 26, 1891
England.
(no 10)
Chester - with much reluctance we retraced our steps
along the shore of the pond and took a beautiful,
winding avenue which led around the side of a
hill covered with fine beeches and an undergrowth
of rhododendrons in bloom, past an artificial
pond of large size bordered by overhanging willows,
through a heavily wooded glen to the Dee where
in a grove of beeches near our river bridge we
awaited the steamer. On the way we heard a
Wren in good song. The form of the song is
identical with that of our Winter Wren but
the notes are far less sweet and musical and
the performance is barely more than half as long.
One familiar with our bird would recognize it at
once but the two songs could not be confounded.
That of the British bird is far inferior in every
way.
  There was a Knight in a larch near the rim
(its trea-trea-trea seemed to me identical with
that of R. [satropal?] and a beautiful male Chaffinch
hopping about under the beeches, very tame ("Some
visitors feed the birds here with crumbs") uttering
a loud mettallic sprink, sprink. There was also
a Robin chirping & hopping about in a holly.
  The steamer, a pretty little propellor built strongly
enough to cross the Irish Channel however, soon
arrived and we started for Chester sitting in
the bows in spite of the rain which came
now in brisk showers. The river is a little
broader than our Concord but much less
crooked. The banks are fringed with willows