England.
The Thames.
1909.
Aug 9 [August 9, 1909]
(No 4)
  The Kingfishers were new to me and so was another
bird, the Common Sandpiper. The latter started from the
edge of the water and circled low over an open pasture
before returning to the river again. This bird, the only one
I saw, looked very like our Spotted Sandpiper and flew 
in precisely the same manner with rapid, quivering wing beats.
  About sunset a [female] Mallard passed us flying low &
following the course of the stream. This was the only Duck
I noted.
  The only Hawks observed were a pair of Kestrels,
skimming over a meadow, one following the other closely.
  Herons are often seen by the Captain but none came
under his or my notice to-day.
  Wood Pigeons and Stock Doves were almost constantly
in sight flying rapidly from place to place or dropping into
the grain fields. Turtle Doves appeared less often & usually
in pairs. Six or seven Green Woodpeckers rose from the
ground in a pasture & made for the nearest woods, one
following another, like a straggling party of Flickers.
  Swallows were exceedingly numerous but so evenly distributed
that it was unusual to have them ever out of sight or more
than a score or so in sight at once. The Martins were
less numerous and the Sand Martins comparatively few.
  We saw small troops of Lapwings in several places &
one flock of fully 200 birds rose all at once from a pasture
& realighted after flying in circles for a minute or two.
I saw three or four Wagtails all of the black & gray kind.
A few Reed Warblers were seen dodging about in the
tall rushes & one sang several notes of the song.
  Hundreds of Finches of various kinds were seen or 
heard but I identified only the Corn Bunting, the House Sparrow,
the Chaffinch & the Green Finch.