40 
NOTES FROM A WINTER JOURNAL. 
Feb., 1892. 
the entrance by means of its body, which it used like a 
spade. Each time that it came out to clear the way it gave a 
buzz that seemed to express either satisfaction at the pro¬ 
gress it was making with its labour, or anger at the sand 
hindering its movements. 
I suppose that when finished it would lay its egg at the 
bottom of the hole, after having laid in a stock of food for its 
young in the shape of spiders, grasshoppers, or other insects. 
I opened several of these nests, but they were all empty, so 
cannot say with what they would be stocked. 
(To be continued.) 
NOTES FROM A WINTER JOURNAL, 1890-1. 
BY O. V. APLIN, 
MEMBER OF THE BRITISH ORNITHOLOGISTS.’ UNION, AUTHOR OF 
“ THE BIRDS OF OXFORDSHIRE.” 
The following notes relating to Oxfordshire during the 
great frost of the past winter, extracted from my journal, may 
perhaps be interesting to the readers of the “ Midland 
Naturalist.” On account of the remarkably dry autumn and 
winter (the rainfall in North Oxon in 1890 was only about 
eighteen instead of the average twenty-five inches) and the con¬ 
sequent absence of floods, save for a week at the end of January 
and the first few days of February, the wild fowl season was 
a poor one in point of numbers. But in point of interesting 
species procured or observed in the county, the past winter 
will yield to few. Unless anything to the contrary appears in 
the text, the notes must be understood to refer to this parish 
(Bloxham). 
October 18th.—Redwings arrived at Bodicote. 
19th.—Fieldfares arrived. Half a dozen Lesser Redpolls 
feeding in an alder at Bodicote. Great store of alder seed, 
also larch-cones, hips, haws, holly, and other berries. Sloes, 
like the garden plum crop, have failed. Song Thrushes hard 
on the yew berries now. Very cold ; north wind, still. 
23rd.—Adult male Common Scoter shot on Broughton 
Moat this morning. Barred Woodpecker in orchard. 
28tli.—Excessively sharp frost last night, and froze all day 
in shade. Many Fieldfares. 
30th.—Extraordinary change in trees and hedges this last 
two days. Leaves have come off in showers. Ash quite bare 
now and hedges brown. Beech is copper and gold, and elms 
even turning. Rooks carrying off walnuts from the big trees. 
November 2nd.—Mild. 
3rd.—Grey Wagtail on roadside near Wickham, close to 
