WATSON : ORNITHOLOGY OF SKIDDAW, ETC. 



is quite loquacious. Like the last-named, the Sandpiper makes for 

 the low-lying Cumberland marshes ere starting on its return 

 migration. The downy young one figured by Yarrell, was sent by 

 T. C. Heysham, of Carlisle, and was probably from the neighbour- 

 hood of these mountains. 



During its spring and summer migrations, the Osprey {Fandion 

 haliaetus) is fond of resting for a time by the still mountain tarns ; 

 and scarcely a year passes but that one or more of these birds may 

 be seen fishing for the trout that abound in most of the meres. 

 When the fish are seen swimming near the surface, the Osprey dashes 

 down into the water, raising a jet of spray, and usually ascends with 

 a fish in its talons. This is firmly held by the wondrously-adapted 

 feet, and is eaten at some little distance among the rocks. At the 

 end of last century the Osprey bred in the Lake District, and notably 

 in Whinfield Park. 



Before the invasion of tourists and the action of the shepherds 

 ridded us of the Golden and White-tailed Eagles {Aquila chrysa'etns 

 and Haliaetus albicilla), the former, as Wordsworth tells us, used to 

 wheel and hover round the head of the solitary angler as he plied his 

 silent trade in Red Tarn. Certainly at one time eagles bred commonly 

 —at least, as commonly as the larger birds of prey in any one district 

 ever do — in these mountains and their environments. 



Upon the shoulders of the mountains a few pairs of Merlins 

 {Faico cesalon) nest annually, preying for the most part on larks, 

 pipits, wheatears, and young ouzels in autumn. These little falcons, 

 the arabs of the air of these wilds, hunt in consort and maraud 

 through the whole district. In summer their bright red eggs are 

 laid in a depression among the heather, and near the nest are usually 

 found the remains of various mountain birds. To see a pair of wild 

 Merlins lark-hawking here, where nothing obstructs the view, is one 

 of the most fascinating sights in nature. It often happens that 

 chasers and chased, circling against the sky, rise higher and higher 

 until they become mere specks in the cloud-caps that overtop the 

 mountains. To see this falconer's favourite, too, rush past on the 

 wings of a mountain storm, as we have often done, is a sight not 

 soon to be forgotten. 



A bird which constitutes a considerable part of the Merlin's 

 prey is the Twite, or Mountain Linnet {Linota fJavirostris). This is 

 a species characteristic of the Fells, resembling a linnet, but having 

 a long forked tail. Its bent-built nest is found on broken heathery 

 or peaty ground, and always in elevated situations. On Helvellyn, 

 Sea Fell, and Skiddaw it commonly breeds, descending to the lowlands 

 at the approach of winter. This species is another of the 'ling birds' 



June i8S8. 



