1909.
Sept 20-27
(No 2)
 over the lower tier of hills for distance of half a mile to a
mile. Of the larger lakes Windermere has the most serene and
restful scenery, Derwentwater the most picturesque and beautiful,
Ullswater the most rugged and inspiring. Rydalewater is pretty but
rather insignificant, Grassmere commonplace and uninteresting, Thirlmere
unlovely and, indeed, almost forbidding by reason of its nearly straight
shore lines and of the generally rocky, barren condition of its bordering
slopes.
  The bird life of the region has disappointed me. It seems much
less rich and varied than in the low country. At least this
is true of the mountain sides and lake shores where I have noted
only a very few birds of any kind. They are numerous enough about
the towns and cultivated grounds in some of the valleys, however.
A Heron, a Cormorant and three Moorhens at Derwentwater on the
23rd, three Ducks which I took to be Porchards in Brothers water
on the 21st and numbers of Black-headed Gulls seen in all
the larger lakes comprise the list of all the water fowl I have
noted.
  In Kirkstone Pass I saw on the 22nd a beautiful little Merlin
skimming over the moors about 200 yds. off. It looked &
flew exactly like our Peregrine Hawk. Four or five Pipits and
a flock of about 20 [?] Thrushes were met with in this pass.
Rooks & Jackdaws are much less common than in most other
parts of England and Lapwings well-nigh wanting.
The commonest bird in & about the towns & villages is the
House Sparrow & next to him the Robin. The Robin is quite
as abundant and so generally distributed in cultivated parts of
this region as in any other part of England where we have been.
 During the past week he has been singing everywhere at all hours
of the day so that I have scarce ever been for many minutes 
beyond the sound of his delightful music except in mountain passes.