252 
NATURE NOTES. 
FROM YEAR TO YEAR. 
[ACH year differs from those gone before in its varying 
interests of bird life. In some we see more of black- 
birds, in others thrushes are supreme ; yet another 
season and chaffinches are of absorbing interest, whilst 
in another the cruel ravages of the sparrow-hawk stops for a 
time the joyous outburst of mirth. Last year, to our great 
delight, a pair of redstarts built in our ivied wall near one of 
the windows for the first time. Every opportunity of quiet and 
encouragement was afforded them ; they successfully brought 
out into the world a large and healthy family, and we hoped that 
a remembrance of past mercies would induce them to return a 
second spring, but never a redstart has been seen near the house 
this year ! Of blackbirds we have not seen as many as usual. 
An old blackbird who had lost a claw in a trap, and had been 
fed regularly from the house for fifteen months, was last spring 
driven away by younger birds, and with him went much of our 
interest in the individual blackbird ; the difficulty of feeding 
them, in spite of the ubiquitous sparrow, is also an ever-increas- 
ing one. The rigours, however, of a possible severe frost in 
the near future may effect a change in the relations of birds to us. 
Of wagtails, pied and grey, we have seen more than usual 
this summer. A pair of grey wagtails, with their yellow breasts 
and long elegant tails, built at the back of the house near to a 
running spring, and the pretty birds were constantly about the 
windows, hovering frequently in search of insect food, but never 
condescending to partake of the daily rations of hempseed and 
soaked crumbs, so much appreciated by many of the birds. 
Towards the close of a hot day in July I went down our private 
road, which is fenced in on either side by iron railings, and 
there I saw, perched on these railings, a family of pied wag- 
tails — five young ones and the parent birds. There they 
were, wagging their pretty tails and showing their snow-white 
feathers. I stood for some time watching them ; first one and 
then another would flit gracefully into the air to secure a passing 
fly, and then back to its perch again. Then there would be a 
darting backwards and forwards, and exchanging of sides, like 
figures in a bird quadrille; then as I came close upon them, the 
whole party took flight to the nearest tree, their white feathers 
flashing in the afternoon sunshine like shining silver. 
Another July day a large family of blue-tits was brought to 
our drawing-room window ; there was a sound so extraordinary 
of fairy-like squeaking and screaming and buzzing, that I went 
to see what was happening, and chanced on this charming sight. 
Of course 1 put out some hempseed on the window-sill, and 
presently saw one of the parent birds involved in an entangle- 
ment of young blue-tits, all striving to partake of one minute 
grain of shelled hempseed. The parent bird successfully extri- 
