Coal-tit.
Pied Wagtail.
Pheasant.
Goldcrest.
Blackbird.
Robin.
Chaffinch.
House Sparrow.
Yellowhammer.
Garden Warbler.
Starling.
Swallow.
Skylark.
Great-tit.
Spotted Flycatcher.
Wheatear.
Partridge.
Lesser Whitethroat.
Woodpigeon.
$ 3. WHEN TO LOOK.
Time of Year.—It is most important to know the time of year when different birds are to be expected to lay, especially the rarer kinds for which one makes special expeditions; and the best way to make sure of this is to study the calendar at the end of the book, which will give you a good idea of the order in which to look for them, though the dates may be a good deal later than those I have given, which are “records.’’
Another useful piece of knowledge is, which birds are likely to have second broods, and that I have always given in my account of the birds themselves. You will often not be able to find a nest till the young ones are hatched, but the second nest will generally be somewhere near the first, if not in the very same place. Soon after the young have flown you should see the old birds building again, and a little patience will generally put you on the right track.
The calendar is a good rough guide, but you must watch the weather as well. For instance, if we have very wintry weather in March, the early birds may easily be a fortnight or more behind their time; but it does not follow that the summer birds, which mostly get here about the middle of April, or later, will be put back in proportion. If the weather turns warm and everything begins to grow, the later birds may be well up to time. Another year the cold snap may come after the early birds have got well started, and then it is the summer birds that will be late in arriving and behindhand with their nesting arrangements.
Birds will generally not start building until the particular cover they like has grown up enough to give them shelter, but you will often come across impatient spirits that won’t wait for this. 1 have even seen that shy bird the Corncrake busily building its nest when the grass had not grown tall enough to hide it.
Time of Day.—So much for the time of year. Now for the time of day. I think boys would agree that all day long is the best time, but most of us have other things to do, even in the holidays; while at school the time for birds nesting is generally when you can, not when you like. Still it will be useful to know what the birds are doing at different times, and the first thing to think about is that all birds are early risers, and get the best part of their day’s work over before we start ours. Now the most interesting way to study them is to watch the whole business from building (or even pairing) to hatching and fledging, and if you want to see them building, early morning is the time. They work harder then, and seem less suspicious of human beings.
Mid-day.—When the eggs are laid and the birds have begun to sit, you may find the nests of most of them at any time of the day. But there are certain birds which are very shy, and always seem to get off their nests long before you come near; then they sit about and watch you, and won’t go back to their nests however patiently you wait. You can spot every pair of Whinchats in the district, but you will have hard work to find a single nest before they start to feed their young ones.
Dusk.—Now the best way to find their nests is to mark the spot where you always see the birds, and come back at dusk. Walk quietly over all the likely ground, poking about with your stick, and if you are lucky the bird won’t leave her nest till you actually touch the tuft that covers it. This plan will serve for any birds that build on the ground and leave their nests in a hurry. I have walked right up to a Curlew on a misty evening, and walked round her at about five yards distance, and all she did was to twist her head round till I thought she would dislocate her neck; I went on and left her still sitting on her eggs. Not very like a Curlew at ordinary times, was it?
Rain.—A real wet day gives you a splendid chance for getting on terms with the shy birds, as no bird likes to leave her eggs to get wet; so you can’t do better than spend such a day on birds that have always beaten you before, perhaps a Curlew, Redshank, or Golden Plover. But wherever you go you can rely on every bird being on her nest.
Snow is even better. I was once walking over a Yorkshire moor in April, seeing lots of birds about, but not coming on many nests. Suddenly a heavy snow shower came on, and I sat down under a wall for shelter. That shower didn’t last for ten minutes, but before it was over I saw five Plovers, a Curlew and a Redshank come back to their nests on the piece of moor I could see, and also saw a Carrion Crow hurry into a little plantation in the distance. I found all their nests, and several more from which the birds rose as I topped a small rise on my way to the plantation; so you see how a little bad weather can help. Of course, with a covering of snow you can find every Plover’s nest for miles. You can see the brown patches among the white 40 yards away.
$ 4. HOW TO LOOK.
Eyes and Ears.—You will never make much of a birds-nester if you do nothing but search for nests. Get to know the birds, both by sight and by sound, and you will have far more success and get far more fun out of it. If you hear a Jay screech once, or catch a glimpse of him sneaking into a wood in the early morning, you will think it worth while to climb up to every nest in the wood till you find the right one. Whereas if you went in just hunting for nests in general, by the time you had been up to a dozen or so of old Squirrels or Woodpigeons, and got your eyes and mouth full of dust, hands and knees and face scratched, and twigs and pine needles all down your back, you would most likely get fed up with the whole thing; but not half so fed up as that morning a month or so later, when you found the whole wood full of young Jays, screeching in every tree, and realized what you had missed. I remember being in a wood one morning with some boys, and hearing a Garden Warbler singing at the opposite edge. We walked straight to the sound, and presently arrived at a bed of nettles and brambles which ran all down the side of the wood. At the first poke of the stick out flew Mrs. Garden Warbler off her nest, and we had our reward. Of course, if we had spent half an hour beating out that bed of nettles we should most likely have found that nest and perhaps one or two more; but that particular morning we had to get home to breakfast, and in any case I think you will agree that our way was far the best.
I have tried in this book to tell you as much as I can about the look of the birds, and sometimes about their notes as well, but the last is very difficult. You will generally find if you whisper such words as “Whee-you,” or “Quick-be-quick,” you will get a good idea of the call they are meant for, but a great many of them can’t be put into words at all; anyhow I advise you to do all you can to get to know every bird you fall in with.
Some birds one seldom sees, but their voices are generally to be heard near their nesting-place. Others are easily recognized either by bright colours or striking attitudes, or peculiar flight. Nobody who has ever seen a Kestrel or Kingfisher in flight, for instance, will have much difficulty in knowing them next time. And the more birds you know, the more likely you are to spot the rare ones when you come across them. If you can get a good look at a stranger close to or through a glass, you should be able to find his portrait in a bird-book when you get home; or if you look up his points in the index at the end of this book you may find out all about him even quicker.
Now suppose you know what bird it is, but nothing