Delamere Forest.
1891.
June 27
England.
Chester. - Most of the day cloudy and showery with
high winds; occasional bursts of sunshine.
  To Delamere Forest by train at 12.20 P.M., Mr.
Newstead acting again as guide and instructor.
  On reaching our destination we first walked
down the road to the edge of an enormous grain
field over which several Skylarks were soaring.
Again disappointed in their song but I did not
hear it satisfactorily; there was too much wind.
  Crossing the railroad by a bridge, we heard in a
grove of Scotch pines a short whit, whit very like
that of Empidonax minimus. Newstead pronounced
the bird to be a Redstart and presently we saw
him, a beautiful creature. He sat motionless on
a dead twig in a crouching posture occasionally
darting out after a fly & returning to the same
perch. No flirting of the tail, none of the
animation of our Setophaga!
  A Willow Warbler and a Chaffinch were in full
song in these pines. I heard the latter yesterday
in several places but not satisfactorily. It is
a fine singer the notes rich and sweet,
delivered very rapidly and ending in a peculiarly
abrupt manner. The quality of the voice resembles
that of our Water Thrush or Mourning Warbler.
I now know that the mysterious songster
that I used to hear just over the garden wall
at the Huger's in Charlston was a Chaffinch.
  Following a road bordered on one side by
hedge rows and a field, on the other by
second-growth, rather scattering oaks 20 to 30