Thomas Hepburn

“ Common Curlew (Numenius arquata) .—There were flocks of Curlews on the coast of Walney Island and at Ravenglass.
Boot. There were here several pairs of breeding birds about the hills. One pair which I watched for some time had young which could fly quite well. The old birds flew round at a safe distance, very often settling on opposite side of me, keeping just out of sight over the rise of the hill, calling to each other with a soft musical whistle all the time. At another spot a pair were particularly noisy and bold, coming quite close to me, and whistling loudly. ”

“ Ravenglass. Except that all the nests here were situated among the sand-hills, the description of the colonies on Walney Island will do equally well for those at Ravenglass. There are, I should say, rather a larger number of Gulls at Ravenglass, and the process of incubation seemed there to be rather more forward. I caught a young bird in this colony which had strong quill-feathers in its wings, and could almost raise itself off the ground as it fluttered along. All the young birds I handled, at both places, were in capital condition, their bodies being almost round. ”

“ A great part of the ground is covered by a thick growth of heather, and some other small shrubs which I did not know, while running all through the heather is a thick undergrowth of long moss. There are other stretches of ground overgrown with thick tussocky grass, and in various directions there are belts, and thin patches of small stunted trees and bushes from six to fifteen feet high. ”

“ A most conspicuous bird everywhere, on account of its loud whistle and bold behaviour when anyone is near its nest. It is common both on the beach and on the marsh-land. Nests were to be found at this date with both fresh and hard-sat eggs in them. One nest I found was made right on the shingle, with only the scantiest lining of grass and lichen. June 3rd. I found a nest in a patch of grass on the beach with one fresh egg in it. ”

“ There was a considerable similarity in the construction of the nests, which showed signs of much more care than in those of the Black-headed Gull, the material forming them being almost felted together into concave pads, the hollows measuring roughly 9 to 10 in. diameter, by 11⁄2 to 21⁄2 in. deep. One nest I examined was placed between some big tussocks of coarse grass, the materials used for the pad being moss, grass-blades, small twigs, and a few white feathers, which made a thick and soft bed for the eggs. ”

“ The old birds make a considerable noise as one walks through their nests. About ten feet or so overhead fly a crowd of the Gulls, continually chattering, and occasionally swooping downwards at the intruder. Flying at a higher level are the Terns, also uttering all the time their long-drawn cries ”

“ Ravenglass. I was told here by one of the fishermen that there were about fifty pairs of these Terns breeding in the sandhills, in eight or nine separate clumps, amongst the large colony of Black-headed Gulls. During one afternoon I found four nests in one spot, and ten nests in another. They were placed very close together, the clump of four covering an area of about one square yard, and the ten nests covering a proportionately small area. In every nest the young were just coming out of the eggs, the clutch having been either three or two eggs. ”

“ This is not safe to trust one's weight on, for if breaking through one is immediately in very deep water. Masses of this dead vegetation had broken away from the edges, and were floating about the surfaces of the water, and on nearly all of them one could, with the glasses, distinguish eggs lying right on the surface of the débris, without any attempt at nests. I only saw two clutches with three eggs, the rest of the nests I could see having only one egg in them. July 16th–21st. I only saw old birds on the part of the beach that I visited. ”

“ Found a nest in one of the clumps of elder and holly bushes, which are a feature of this stretch of beach. The nest was in the fork of an elder-bush not more than three feet above the ground. The outside of the nest was made almost entirely of sheep's wool, with a few sticks entangled in it, and was neatly lined with fine grass. It contained four young birds about a week old. July 16th-21st. Noticed considerable numbers of these birds on the grass-lands and meadows which join the beach. They seemed to be mostly young birds. ”

“ They looked decidedly ludicrous when running (which they could do well, with a rather waddling action) , especially if you got them silhouetted against the sky-line, when they appeared as a round ball with a neck stretched out in front, and two legs moving at top speed underneath. There was nothing whatever in the picture to remind one of their elegant, and almost slim, parents flying overhead. ”

“ Found them nesting in small companies in a good many places on the beach. They seem to choose places where the shingle is small and comparatively fine, and often do not even trouble to make the usual slight scratch out, laying their eggs in a chance depression, such as a footstep. ”

“ Over this area are scattered the Lesser Black-backed Gulls' nests. They are not by any means placed close together, the distance between the nests averaging from forty to fifty yards. As there are a great number of birds, the area covered by their nests is considerable. I found most of the eggs were hatched out, and there were many of the young ones skulking about in the undergrowth. ”

“ This is a common bird on the beach, and nests there in considerable numbers. Owing to the close similarity in the colouring of the eggs and the shingle, and to the artful behaviour of the old birds, its eggs are far from easy to find. ”

“ Large numbers were to be often seen feeding on the grassland, especially towards evening.
Kentish Plover (Æ. cantiana) .—May 10th–14th. I was introduced to this small and somewhat rare little Plover by one of my fishermen friends, who showed a very considerable knowledge of its breeding habits. ”