Notes. 
23:9 
Breeding of Canada Goose at Hillsborough, Co. Down. 
About twenty years ago a pair of Canada Geese, Bernicla canadensis, 
came to Hillsborough Park and bred near the lake. They were said to 
have escaped from Castlewellan demesne, where, I am told, this bird is 
"kept. Since their advent here one or two pairs have nested almost every 
year. Two broods were successfully hatched off this year. The birds 
are not protected in any way save for the security of their habitat — inside 
a private walled -in park — and exist in a truly feral condition. They 
•frequently fly about the surrounding country and many of them have 
fallen victims to the sportsman's gun. The birds, unlike those at Ballv- 
drain, seven miles distant (p. 228 ante), appear to remain in the vicinitv 
of their nesting ground all the year. 
Nevik H. Foster, 
Hillsborough, Co. Down, 
Tree Pipit in Ireland. 
On the 2ist May, close ±0 Portumna Bridge, on the Shannon, I heard 
a bird singing in a solitary tree in the centre of a field. On approaching 
and listening for some time I identified it as a Tree Pipit b}^ its melodious 
song, as 1 frequently heard this species singing in Wales. It was taken 
a,t the Tuskar by Professor Patten, September, 1912, and received from 
Rockabill by Mr. Harrington, September, 191 3. I do not think this species 
has yet been obtained in any of the inland counties of Ireland. 
W. J. Williams, 
Dublin. 
Late Stay of the Fieldfare. 
One of our local birdcatchers brought me a Fieldfare on the 15th Juh- 
he had taken in a net the previous night. The bird was in good condition, 
and uninjured. Mr. Pycraft kindly examined the body, and reported it 
as a male, but no indications of having bred this year. 
W. J. Williams, 
Dublin. 
GEOLOGY. 
Estuarine Clay Section at Holywood. 
During a visit to the gasworks at Holywood, Co. Down this month 
(September) I found contractors busy at the foundations for a new vertical 
retort house. This sj^stem requires a very deep pit to be dug for the 
coal -elevating machinery, and the foreman in charge gave me the following 
notes of the beds passed through : — 
Garden soil, 6 to 8 inches. 
Mottled red and grey clay, 2 feet 6 inches, 
Sandy blue clay, 4 feet. 
Unctuous blue 9lay, very pure and free from shells, 30 feet. 
