204 



THE YOUNG 



NATUEALIST. 



neighbourhood of pools. Wood Anemone 

 {Anemone nemorosa), abundant in shady 

 places. The Marsh Marigold and Sallow 

 were extremely plentiful in the bogs by 

 Spade Mill Pool. 



Saw several Snipe by Long Moor Pool. 

 Note — Sometimes Snipe will not stir until 

 the intruder is within a few yards. Grey 

 Water Wagtails were plentiful by all the 

 brooks. Shrew Mice. — I have observed 

 several dead Shrew Mice lately. It seems 

 that they die off in the spring as much as in 

 the autumn. 



April 15th. — Brake fern in leaf. 



April i6th. — Saw a few hares, several 

 flocks of brown linnets, a gold finch, heron, 

 nettle creeper, -several crows, black-capped 

 tits, partidges, and lapwings, at Sutton. 

 Found two nests of the common wren, one 

 golden crested wren, one house sparrow, 

 two thrushes, four blackbirds, one tree 

 starling, one robin, and several hedge spar- 

 rows, at Sutton. Most of the nests were 

 without eggs in, and were building. The 

 sand martins came to-day in a large flock 

 and have gone to their own banks. It is 

 peculiar that they should all come together. 

 Found a cocoon of the emperor moth among 

 the heather containing a live pupa. Cole- 

 optera were very numerous on the common, 

 and Diptera along the banks. Found one 

 L. stagnalis in the Keeper's Pool. Saw great 

 quantities of L. pmgra. I have seen very 

 few specimens of L. stagnalis the last few 

 months in this pool. They were very abun- 

 dant last Autumn. Discovered wild nar- 

 cissus flowering plentifully on fields by the 

 rectory. Saw very fine specimens of the 

 marsh marigold and a few primroses in the 

 same locality. Discovered a large rookery 

 also. Fungi abundant still on Whitehouse 

 Common. Lichens nearly over. Mosses 

 plentiful everywhere. The larvae of C. caja 

 are very large for the time of year ; saw 

 numbers feeding on the stinging nettle. — 

 W. Harcourt Bath. 



Sesia spheciformis. — Yesterday, friend 

 Gibb and I went to Tilgate forest for another 

 hunt after Spheciformis, and we, by dint of a 

 hard day's work had better success than 

 on our first visit : but we must not reckon 

 our chickens before they are hatched. Our 

 whole attention was devoted to the one 

 object, so that we did nothing else, save gather 

 a spring bouquet of wild flowers. The woods 

 and coppices now are looking splendid. 

 The mass of bloom of Primula veris and 

 vulgaris were beautiful, and elatior not rare. 

 We had, too, a fine "posie" of daffodils — 

 they looked simply splendid, gowing up in 

 the heather and in the meadows. One 

 wood was a picture with Viola canina and 

 primroses ; it was quite a carpet of bloom 

 Sallows were nearly over ; blackthorn in 

 full flower. The birches just looking green 

 and even many of the oaks almost in leaf. 

 This is very forward for oak ; ash and elder 

 were still nearly bare. B. parthenias, I sup- 

 pose, was over, as we did not see any. Fido- 

 nia atomaria was on the wing, and a few 

 hybernated Vanessa. A grand concert of 

 our wild song birds contributed to make it 

 a most enjoyable day's outing. — W. H 

 TuGWELL, Greenwich. 



THE BIRMINGHAM NATU- 

 RALISTS^ FIELD CLUB. 



The first annual meeting of this society 

 was held in Albert Chambers, Paradise 

 Street, on Wednesday evening, 5th April 

 at 7.30 p.m. Dr. Hiepe in the chair. After 

 the rules had been discussed the following 

 were elected officers for the current year : — 

 President, Dr. Hiepe; Secretary, Mr. W^ 

 Harcourt Bath ; Treasurer, Mr. G. F. 

 Wheeldon; Curator, Mr. P. T. Deakin. 

 The council is composed as follows: — Mr. 

 J. W. Lapworth, Mr. A Pimm, and Mr. A. 

 G. Davis, besides the officers. This meeting 

 was very well attended, there being thirteen 

 members present, and many more are about 



