THE YOUNG NATURALIST. 



85 



were watching the Curlews, probably of the same kind as the pair we saw on 

 the 6th. We took one M. subiristata on the Burrows, and in the evening 

 one T. stabilis, which flew in through the open windows, to the light. 



May 13. — We went out in a sailing boat in the morning, and saw four 

 Razorbills swimming and diving in the sea. A Green Cormorant, or Shag, as 

 the boatman called it, also flew close past us. In the afternoon we went 

 collecting inland, but the day being cold and dull, our captures of Diptera were 

 by no means numerous. All those we took, (amongst which were the follow- 

 ing species ; Rilara maura, Platyheirus mamcatus, Musca kortoruvi, Ry- 

 lemyia strigosa and Rylemyia variata,) were sitting among the plants in the 

 hedge banks, in a semi-torpid condition. We beat some larvse out of the 

 hedges into an inverted umbrella, but besides the always common C. brumata, 

 we only took one A. grossulariata, one L. complanula, one R. t/iymiaria, and 

 two or three more, which we did not know. 



May 14. — We went prawning for abont two hours in the morning and 

 spent the rest of the day sailing. This and the one day mentioned before, 

 were the only two occasions on which we had any boating. There is no land- 

 ing place at Westward Ho, and the coast is so dangerous, that few of the 

 Appledore fishermen will venture, even in the finest weather, to bring their 

 boats to the rocks, to pick up any one wishing to go for a sail. Bideford 

 Bar, over which we sailed, consists of two ridges of sand, the " North Tail " 

 and the " South Tail," which are formed where the current of the sea meets 

 that of the rivers Taw and Torridge, and runs straight out to sea for some 

 little distance. The Bar is partially uncovered at low tide, but at high water 

 only the long line of breakers shows where it lies. We saw Razorbills swim- 

 ming in the sea and some Green Cormorants on the shore. Just inside the 

 Bar, at the mouth of the rivers, the fishermen were very busy salmon-netting, 

 but the season having only just begun, fish were very scarce and not more 

 than one had been caught that morning, in spite of the quantities of nets 

 stretched across the entrance to the harbour. We sailed on past the little 

 fishing village of Appledore, as far as Bideford, and then rowed up the 

 Torridge to Wear Gifford, beyond which the river becomes too shallow for 

 boating. A good many Curlews were feeding on the muddy banks of the 

 river. 



May 15. — We went to the far side of the Burrows to look once more for 

 the nests of the Ring-dotterel, but again failed to find any. A small flock of 

 Dunlin were running about on the pebbles, close to the edge of the waves, 

 and as they were not at all shy, we managed to get within ten or fifteen yards 

 of them, and were able to see their colour and markings quite distinctly. 

 The Dunlin is a small and rather plump bird, with a longish bill and moder- 



