CARTER : MARFIELD POND. 



2 33 



majority of the birds waited for the rushes appearing. I have known 

 Coots' and Waterhens' eggs laid in the same nest in one of these late 

 seasons. One year an impatient pair of birds, or perhaps more than 

 one pair, built a nest on the bare grassy bank of the largest overflow, 

 under the shade of a large oak tree. It was a ridiculously exposed 

 situation, and, as I expected, the eggs were very soon taken. It was 

 this overflow which attracted a pair of Redshanks in 1883. They 

 were first seen on April 8th, and fed on the margin and at the pond 

 itself until the water had partially subsided, when they laid their eggs 

 in a tussock in the marshy ground. A pair of Dunlins, sometimes 

 more, usually rested a day or two in spring when migrating to the 

 higher grounds to breed, and in autumn Green Sandpipers (T. 

 ochropus) frequently stayed some time when migrating southwards. 

 A Stormy Petrel, blown inland during severe weather, may be included 

 in the list of visitors, as may also Herons, Curlews, Golden Plover, 

 Black-headed, Herring, and Lesser Black-backed Gulls, Jack Snipe, 

 and Woodcock. The Common Snipe nested in some numbers in 

 the bog, and in 1879 I saw a Woodcock there as late as May 6th. 

 The severe winter of 1879-80 was a great season for Woodcock. 

 Numbers came to this bog to feed, as it abounds in fine warm springs 

 which do not freeze in the hardest weather. Water Rails were often 

 seen in the winter months, but have never been known to breed in 

 this locality. 



On the 14th January, 1869, two Brent Geese were seen on the 

 pond. One was shot by the Swinton keeper and is now in my 

 father's collection. 



February 7th, 1876. One Black-tufted Duck on the pond. 



February 12th, 1879. One Bewick's Swan on the river by the 

 edge of the bog. This bird stayed some days and finally took its 

 departure without being shot. 



January 22nd, 1881. A pair of Red-breasted Mergansers, one of 

 which was shot. 



April 5th, 1882. A Pochard appeared on the pond, where it 

 stayed some days. This species must build somewhere in the neigh- 

 bourhood, as on the 1st March, 1884, a female Pochard was on the 

 pond, and on November 25th, 1884, I noted a pair. I have seen 

 one bird or a pair on the pond on several occasions in spring, but 

 have not always made a note of the date. 



April 22nd, 1882. A male and female Shoveller took up their 

 quarters on the pond, and would, I think, have bred, for they stayed 

 ten days, but the water being unusually high there was no cover for 

 them, and attracting the attention of all passers-by they were at 

 length fr ightened away. In 1869 a brood was reared in the bog, as 



Aug. 1886. 



