Herefordshir~ ,·Qrnith91QgiCa} CJub No.S. Vol. 2

OFFICERS' and, COMI~I'T1"E\Et 1968

PreJident: ...,.... BRIGADIER SIRMICHAEL VENABLES·LLEWELYN, BART., M.V.O.

Vice-PreSidents: ­ P. W. HINDE, M.~.E. DR. C. W. WALKER, M.C.

Chairman :­ T, R. AMMONDS

Hon. Treasurer:- A. G. FYSHE

H on: Secretary:­ R. H. BAILLIE

Hon. Editor:- T. R. H. OWEN, C.B.E.

Committee: - D.BARNES R. HUNT O. S. BENNETT MRS. M. E.. JOHN MRS. J. M. BROMLEY W. H.MEAnHAM A. T. COOMBES A. J. SMITH MRS. J. V. Fox G. N. SMITH Co-opted J. H. WATKINS 334 ORNITHOLOGICAL REPORT, ~968

I. NAME. The Club shall be called the Herefordshire Ornithological Club. 2. OBJECTS. The objects of the Club shall be (a) to further the study of birds in the field, and (b) to assist in their preservation. 3. MEMBERSHIP. The Club shall consist of a President, a Chairman, a Secretary, a Field Secretary, a .Treasurer. anE(litOr and Ten Com­ mittee Members and Ordinary Members. The President and the Chairman to retire after serving a term of three years. The Secretaries, the Treasurer and the Editor shall be elected annually. The three senior of the ten Ordinary Members of the Committee shall retire annual.ly and they shall not be eligible for re-election for a period of twelve mOnths. The Officers and Ordinary Members of the Com­ mittee shall be elected at the Annual General Meeting and the Officers shall be eligible for re-election. Nominations ·for the Committee must be received in writing by the Hon. Secretary by March 31 st. 4. CONDITIONS OF MEMBERSHIP. Members shall be required to support and keep the provisions of the Protection of Birds Act, 1954. Any members failing to support and keep this law shall be required to resign. Members may not divulge to unauthorised persons (e.g. known co.llectors of skins and/or eggs) information in a manner likely to be detrimenta·' to the oblects of the Club. 5. SUBSCRIPTIONS. (a) Ordinary Members: 18 years of age or over 155., payable on Janua·ry Ist or on eleCtion to membership. Any additional members of a housemld after the first, IOs.; such members receiving all privileges of full membership. Junior Members (under 18 but over 12 years of age), 7s. 6d. per annum, payable as above. Corporate Members: Kindred bodies, Schools, etc.: Subscription one guinea per annum. Honorary Members: As approved by the majority present at the Annual General Meeting. (b) All subscriptions, subsequent to those paid on admission, shall be due on January Ist each year. Wnere a member has been e.lected on or after 1st September in any year, there will be no further liability to subscribe in the year immediately following that of his or her election. Any Member whose subscription is six months in arrears shall cease to receive the Club's publications a!'!d, s~ld the subscription not be paid by December 31 st, his or her name shall be deleted from the list of Members. 6. MANAGEMENT. The Secretary shall keep Minutes of the meetings and prepare such literature as shall keep Members informed of the Club's activities. 7. MEETINGS shall be held as often as deemed desirable at the discretion of the Officers. 8. ~EPORT. There shall be an Editoria,1 Committee of at least three Mem­ bers iricluding the Secretary, appointed at an ordinary Committee Meet­ ing. These shall prepare and present an Annual Report and such special reports as may be decided upon. 9. ALT'ERATION OF ,RULES. An alteration of the Rules may be made only if proposed at one meeting, printed on the agenda. for the following meeting, and passed by a two:thirds majority of those present. HEREFORDSHIRE ORNITHOLOGICAL REPORT, 1,968 335

HEREFORDSHIRE ORNlTHOLOGIQA,L CLUB

INCOME AND EXPENiDITURE ACCOUNT Vear ending 31st Decetllber. 1968 1967 £ s. d. Income: £ s. d. £ s. d. 5 19 4 Sale of Club Publications 3 9 0 1 16 o Donations 1 1 0 15 12 9 Interest on Investments 14 9 6 250 9 o Subscriptions 250 2 8 273 17 269 2 2 Deduct.: Expenditure 2 10 0 Duplicating Bulletins, etc. 12 10 6 18 1 11 Printing and Stationery 14 18 11 36 9 9 PDstages and Telephones 30 6 1 57 19 0 Printing Annual Report 57 0 0 73 7 9 Meeting Expenses 50 2 0 13 1 0 Affiliation Subscriptions 13 1 0 (see page) 12 5 0 Donations 15 0 0 7 13 o Corporation Tax 3 16 0 --- Gift to Mrs. S. Lee 9 2 3 205 16 9 221 7 5 52 9 8 Net Surplus for the year 63 5 5 347 11 4 Add: Surplus at 1st January, 1968 400 1 0 £400 0 ACculnulated Fundi at 31st December. 1968 £463 6 5 AcclHTlulated Funds at 31st December, 1968 represented by : 305 18 2 Deposit with the Abbey National Building Stxiety 370 7 8 94 2 10 Cash at Bank and in hand less 1969 Subscrip- tions received in advance 92 18 9 £400 0 £463 6 5

A. G. FYSHE, Hon. Treasurer. 21.1.69.

I have audited the above Accounts and , report that. in my opiniOn, these Accounts show a true and fair view of the Surplus for the year ended 31st December, 1967, and of the Club's assets as at 31st December, 1967. T. DAVIES, Chartered Accountant.

11th February, 1969. 336 HEREFORDSHIRE ORNITHOLOGICAL REPORT, 1968

EDITORhtL NOTE The 1967-1968 winter entiJ,.iled ,som~ heavy spowfalls, but no lasting hard weather:' Spring 'was' nauSeous and cold; summer brought heavy and· torrential ,rains; 'autumn waswal'm; and the year went out on a hard note. It is not easy to assess the effect of these conditions on the-;bird world, but despite untinl~IYFold and wet, despite such contretemps as mouse-predatjop (which in some areas was serious among holi:-:nesting.speCies), the year was probably aver­ age for survival and breeding. Na.ture over the seasons maintains a balance. Not so Man's activities, But it is not always a simple matter to assign cause to effect. Is the reduction in the Great Tit 'in Some areas due to the eradication of the nettle, which provides the caterpillars so needed for feeding its brood? . Is the mltion-wide decline of the Partridge due to the removal or the narrowing and tidying of the broad and rank hedges which used to give ample covet to its nest? The fall in many birds of prey has been proved due, beyond reasonable doubt, to pesticides; and there is some reason to hope that a reduction in the use of poisons mllY 4,erald an improvement. tAny information or evi~ce". that Members can send in or find, on these and all oilier problems, will always be welcomed; and wherever poison is suspected, any dead specimens should be sent direct, if birds ~f prey or fish­ eaters, to .the Nature Conservancy, Monkswood Exp~r!metltal Station, Abbots Ripton, Huntingdon; all other specimens utay be sent to the Veterinary Lab()ratory, ~o\le" Lasswade,. Mj;Ql~~an. Specimern should be sent if possible in a tin, and marked 'Patholegical Speci­ men'. Details and any relevant information should be given. Evenapart from 'escapes' and feral birds, ilie year has been well sprinkled with 'rarities', and there are records of Hoopoe, Nutcracker, Grey Grey Shrike, Red Hacked Shrike, Gadwall (breeding), Wood Sandpiper, Red Crested Pochard, Osprey, two Harriers, Hobby (breeding), Spotted Redshank, Corncrake and Corn Bunting. The Nightjar, alas;, s.eems to be a loss, and the status of Wood­ lark and Nightingale precarious. But most of the common, and less common, species have flourished satisfactorily. The Collared Dove spreads; Red Legged Partridge shows signs of increase; the few Black Grouse maintain themselves; Bewick's and Whooper .Swans increas­ ingly ~~VOUf us for their winter sojourn. Altogether the. membership is witJl,ejs to the enjoyment that llas been had, alike OD field meetings or at indoor meetings of the Club throughout the year. FIELD MEETINGS duritlg the year were held in the following areas:- Haugh Wood (four outings); Blaen-y-Cwm; Fishpools Valley;Waun Marteg; 'Vron Valley, near New Radnor; Wigmore Rolls; and the Wye from Lower Castleton to Glasbury. HEREFORDSHIRE ORNITHOLOGICAL REPORT, 1.968 337

INDOOR ME~TINGS, at the Percival Hall in , com­ prised (.1) a talk with coloured slides by Miss D. A. Latter on the Birds of Fetlar, (2) a Members' evening of short tllIks and' slides, (3) a meeting. fo.r planni!;1g the 1968 Nest-box scheme, conducted by Dr. C. W. Walker, (4) a talk, wi!lJ..coloured slides, by Mr. Chris Mead of the B.T.O., "With the Migrants .to Iberia, 1965 and 1967", (5) a colouredfilm shown by Mr. G. N. Smith, a preliminary to his com­ plete film of a journey to the Antarctic in early 1968, (6) a meeting, under Mr. A. J. Smith, to concert plans for the B.T.O. Atlas project, (7) a talk with slides by Dr. C. W. Walker on "Birds of the Orkneys", and (8) a colour film shown by Mr. S. C. Porter, F.R.P.S., "More Birds of East Anglia". ' Two R.S.P.B. colour films, "A Water Bird's World" and "Place for Binls"'1vere also shown at Kington school. MEMBERSHIP, with losses counterbalanced by new· Members, stands at 386. . The Club's FINANCM.L POSITION can again be seeJ;1 from the statement at the beginning of this Report. Its satisfactory nature is largely due to the Treasu.rer, Mr. A. G, Fyshe, who is 'l'etiring in 1969 and handing over to Mr. B. C. iAllan. Mr. Fyshc's ,ten years' labour of love for 'the Club, his skill and wisdom, have earned the gratitude of all Members and will be a sad loss.

OUT THANKS are again due to the Editorial Su'b.,(Jommittee, Mr. P. W. illnde, Dr. C. W. Walker and Colonel Morrey Salmon; to Mrs. Lee who has done so much typing and 'paper work' for the Club; to.all those Members who are helping with the Atlas Scheme and the 'Nest-box Scheme; and to the many Members without whose notes and records this Report could never be compiled. PUBLICATIONS: Copies of "Herefordshire Birds" (1954) by Captain H. A. Gilbert and Dr. C. W. Walker, "Birds of Radnorshire" (1955) by ,G. C. S. Ingram and Col. H. Morrey Salmon, and most of the Club's previous reports maybe obtained from the Secretary at 4/6 a copy, which includes postage. T.R.H.O. 338 HEREFORDSHIRE ORNITHOLOGICAL REPORT, 1,968 NOTES OF INTEREST NESTING ODDITIES. At Glasbury, where a new .house was a-building, a pair of Pied Wagtails made their nest in a cement-mixer, as did a Wren below them. The mixer was. in frequent use, and the noise was too .much for the WTens, but the Wagtails were disturbance-proof and hrought off their brood (per TRHO). At Kington a Song Thrush had a nest of five eggs in an azalea shrubbery, the nest being on .the ground, pressed to the foot of a tree with a tuft of grass to shelter it (RHB). ROBG reports a Carrion Crow, on May 19th, sitting on a nest situated on .the bottom two cross-members of an overhead power­ supply post between two pairs of insulators. At Kingsland a pair of Wrens built in a fox's brush hanging outside the porch of a bungalow (PM£). A pair of Pied Wa8Lails at Prior's COUTt, Staplow, took over an abandoned Thrush's.nest within two feet of the front door, and laid four eggs (JP). Also at Prior's Court a pair of Spotted Flycatchers fought a losing .battle with Sparrows, who finally took over the nest­ abandoned it-and two weeks later the Flycatchers returned to nest UP). At Stap\ow in April an aesthetic (or horticultural) Mistle Thrush built its nest in theganlen entirely of pieces of aubretia (JP). I/\t Lulham, , for the fourth time a pair of -r:awny Owls raised their brood in a six-gallon Bulmer's cider cask erected for their 'benefit 1,5 feet up in a chestnut (TRHO). A particular next-box at Kingsthorne held a variety of occupants. The first vulgar tenants were a pair of House Sparrows. These were dismissed and the box cleaned. A pair of Great Tits took over and raised a ~ood. Again it was cleaned, and a week later held a fine tribe of earwigs. These flew (or crawled) and as final tenants a pair of Tree Sparrows raised a family (TF). Two nest-boxes at the Doward were occupied in May by 'Great Tits, and later in the season, the one by bumble-bees, the other by a dormouse and her five babes ,(CWW). HEREFORDSHIRE ORNITHOLOGICAL REPORT, 1,968 339

PLUMACE. At Kington on September 16th Mr. Colin Parry sighted a hird which proved to be a pure white House Miirtin. It was among a migratory flock of 60-70 normal birds, and among them was a second abnormal bird, perceptibly smaller and less startlingly. white than the first bird, with a faint blue-ish tinge. A third individual was then spotted which had white wings, the rest of the plumage being normal (RHB). A fourth .bird with ragged white bars on the wings was viewed by COMS and CJP.

At Kington on August 29th a Swallow was seen with white on its wings, a white patch on the shoulder of the closed left wing, while the red of the throat extended up into the sides of the neck (CJP).

MISFORTUNE. House Martins seem to have been 'the victims of several tragedies. At Qilwyn, for the second year running a Tawny Owl has attacked the Beretol). nesting colony of Martins. The windows .of the house open outwards, and the Owl perches on top of the window edge, from where it sometimes hoots. The attacks are made when the young Martins. are old enough to twitter. Judging by the thump which is heard when a nest is brought down, it seems that the Owl may faH to the ground with the nest. This year five nests out of fourteen were attacked and destroyed and 'the young eaten, some being second broods (T. A. Edwards). .

At ;Whitoourne, when the repainting of the Parish Hall necessi· tated the removal of 12 Martins' nests, the remains of sitting adult birds were found in six (WRC). Pesticides are suspected, but speci­ mens were not sent for analysis.

Evancoyd had twenty pairs of Martins. One Sunday morning in early June all nests were found broken open. The marauder is believed to 'have been a Magpie from the neighbouring woods. The Martins built again, but a number succumbed to Sparrows (CJLL).

Sand-Martins too had an unhappy time. Their nests in the clay banks of Wye and Lugg were twice washed out by higp summer floods. BEHAVIOUR. WlUm is rttally t;he pugnilciQus Sftx? At Lein~wl/.r4iIle two ilma~OIl hen Blackbirds; were waU;heq in a flll"iQuS figbt, While the CQck 10o.kcm·on-~~(>.lIl ar.illg~side seat It yard or two aW

f 'siiU"ling's as mimics llave'been heard reproducing Curlew, Duzz­ ard,ppwing,lT4rush, Gt;een and Greater Spotted Woodpecker~. In addition, VMJ at Almeley Wootton ,listened to one "aoin~"a'Tawny Owf. . . .:,,"

'lAt How Caple a mabiLcsser Spttted W~pecker fed daily, in hard !W~ather, with other 'birds on the concrete yard of the house, on fat, bread etc., and was joinred by a female 0n March 2nd (BS). At H~reford on May 22nd two Swifts ~cre s~; tl)e qne. r~c;l~~ on the other's back. There was no appearance of mating. The uppttr hird had its wing'J elevatedhiga .over' its back,.the lomr one had the wings elevated just above the lev~l. They first dclscelldcd in a IteepiNl dQ'Wnwll1'dglidi:,tben flew ,allJloststr:aight for 50 yards before being lost to sight (PGRB).

III lI\ugtl-St, at KingsthQme. an ac;luh fewaW Green WQOdpecker wa$ lIe~Jl feeding on, the lawn, when a Magpie suddenly affivj:ld, and for sOQle five ,minute!' put in a.. ~eries of stoops at the WQod~er. The ~atter/ Aeld her beak PQillted at her ass~illaJlt, and PO a~!Jal feathers were lost, but the attack was both ferocious and insistent (TF). At Ahneley, on May 13th, hearing a high-pitched distress call. observer looked out from a window and saw two cock Blackbirds attacking a Whitethroat, which was fluttering on its side. She res­ cued the victim, and after rest and nourishment it took off safely. lU;JlEFOJitDSH1RE OItI';rtHoLOO1CAL REPORT, 1,968 341

These two :bIa.'ckbirds were frequently sparring togetlier.;bUt why combine t() .ss;lulta dilfetent ana non·competiti~nrighbour? (V~J).

A few Sctiptics, remain who dOUbt the Woodcock carrying its young•. On May l$th Mr. Naylor. keeper at Kirrgsthorne. WBs 'Walk· ing in the woods and saw a Woodcock only three yanb,away. It had lWo,chkks about the size of young thrushes. 'She pit'ked up one chitk. under eilth Of her thighs, their legs visibly hanging down, and one with its beak p6intingupwards-the other pointing dtl'Wnwams. Holdingthtm thus she flew, and'carried them out of sight fTF). , The Corncrake, recorded at Sutton was approached fairly closely at 11, p'J:J},lpld its voice tape+recorded. This recording was played back to the bird, which crept closer, out of unmown grass on to the cut swathe, and eventually approached, calling continually, to with­ in five feet, before flying aronndand appearing generally dittraught (SiB and ARM).

RlNGlNC aRCORDS. HM'bft. A bi'id ringed as a nestling at Gailey, Staffs., on 11.5.63, was 1'ecov~ed at 'Lhmdrindod Wells on 10A.M some 65 Jt1il~ W.s,W. (West Midland Bird Report 19(7). CaclwaH. A juvenile ringed on 1,0.6.66 in the 'Guadalquivir delta (sevUIt) was shot neur Builth Wells on 8.10,00 (British Birds vol. 61, P.OO). 1I1~ Tit. An adult ringed~t BurleyGate on 23.2.00 was found dead, on 24.3.~ at Abergavenny, 28 miles to the S.W. (PMcD).

pttd lIyc.tcher. 1A female ritiged asa nestling atPal'kend, Lyd. ney (Glos.) on 14.6.63, was caught in a nest-box at on 9.6.67, 26 mies N.N.W. • ,:,,!al~'r.i~as anestlin~, jlt MOfcas by P¥«::A on 19.6.65 was caught in a Parkend nest-box on 7,6.67. A famale J~ng~d as a nestling by PMcD on 11.6.66, at Moccas was found . I!dead Ft miies west at Clifford_ r on- about 17.5.67• . A cock caught 'on 14.tt!968,ata nest-box at had 'been ringed by C. Mead as a ne~tli~g a~ Mocc~s on 9.6.1967. 342 HEREFORDSHIRE ORNITHOLOGICAL REPORT, 1,968

NOTE ON TH:E NESTINC SUCCESS OF CREAT TITS AND BLUE TITS IN A SUBURBAN GARDEN For five years or more Tits nesting in our well treed suburban garden have ,failed to achieve nesting success. Artificial food in the form of peanuts was provided until mid-ApriL Clutch-size was normal--,-a,bout ,8 eggs£or Great Tits and 11 for Blue...... and year after year the young died in the nest. Once a hen Great Tit was found dead and covering her dead young. We surmised that the cause of death was one of the more dangerous pesticides which might have been u~ in the neighbourhood, or starvation hrought about by lack of caterpillars in a garden ha,bitat in late May. For garden Tits tend to lay about a week earlier than Tits in woodland, so the garden young are often requiring a plentiful supply of food before cater­ pillars are available in plenty.

1968 was different. The supply of peanuts was stopped in late February. Clutch sizes were halved, but they were successful nests. Three Great Tits flew from four eggs. five Blue Tits from six eggs.

<, In past years the parent Tits manufactured their eggs in March and April with an abundant food supply, and ,the result was normal clutches which could not be fed. In 1,968 eggs were .for~~9 with, one presumes, a small food supply owing to the with4rawal of the nuts. Clutches were very small, but there was sufficient natural food in late May to raise the small number of nestlings.

This corresponds with the recent discoveries of David Lack, namely that the dutch-size of birds is in proportion to the brood-size which 'the parents can most successfully raise under local conditions. ann therefore may vary for the same species in different parts of its range. The dutch-size of nestcmaking birds is probably adapted to the food available to the female wllen she is manufacturing her eggs Q.L.F.).

NOTE ON THE BRITISH TRUST FOR ORNITHOLOGY'S "ATLAS SURVEY" The start of this survey results from a long-standing ambition of the B.T.a. to produce an ornithological Atlas covering , Ireland, Scotland, Wales and the Channel Islands. Future need for the information'which the Atlas will provide is only too obvious, particularly when the effects of recent widespread change in habitats and pollution of both land and water are consid- HEREFORDSHIRE ORNITHOLOGICAL REPORT, 1,968 343

ered. In this connection the Nature Conservancy estimate that at least 7,000 miles of hedge are grubbed up each year, mostly ineastem England. This, with the many other physical changes and pollution of our environment which are taking place, must inevitably affect both numbers and distribution of the bird population in the long term. The ~urvey is concerned with obtaining a complete record of dis­ tribution of the breeding population on a 10 kilometer square basis, and will 'be spread over a fi'Ve year period. A useful heginning was made to the Herefordshire and Radnor section of the survey during 1968, and of the 35 squares which are largely within the boundaries of the two counties a total of 2!l re­ ceived some attention from resident and visiting observers. Finn evidence of breeding, 'the ultimate dbjective, was achieved in 22 of these squares, and the number of species recorded on this basis ranged from 3 to 89 per square. Whilst there is a great deal of work ahead to complete this pro­ ject over the next four years, it should be stressed that this is not a difficult exercise, 'but something to which the majority of members can contribute. This is not a bird count; it is only necessary to record the presence of a species during the breeding season, once being sufficient if confirmation of 'breeding can ,be provided. Details of observations" should be recordaI on a B:T.O. record card, in accordance with the code system indicated in the Trust's Atlas Survey instructions (A.J.S.).

THE NEST-BOX SCHEME 1968 Our sixth season of working the Next-,box scheme proved nok able in several waxs. Its scppe has expanded to .include thirty six differel1t wOQdland areas, and f.or the first time over 500 of our boxes were occupied. The increase in the number of Pied Flycatcher nests was especially gratifying, for nobody would have dreamt, when we embarked upon the scheme, that within six years we should see a h'Undr~d and seventy' eight nest-'boxes occupied by these attractive little biTds. •. The~talfigures for the. scheme could not be calculated accur­ ately this season .owing to unforeseeable difficulties in some of our areas. The death ofColonel-Snead-Coxwas a sad blow to the scheme, and ,it was not possible to arrange for the servicing of his Broxwood boxes or the estimation of their occupancy. Changed conditions at 344 HEREFORDSHIRE 6RNITHOLOGICALREPOllT, 1,968 the Hill Court and Kentchurch areas had similar results. We hope however to have satisfactory arrangements for all these localities in the D1ing seas()l:l. Although· the nest occupanq was good, the final ~q1ts were in some cases disappoin'iing. Several areas were badly affeCted bypre­ dation, which appeared to be the work of wood-mice (Apodemus Sylvaticus). The Foxley hoxe&werc the worst hit, hut Gatley. Evan­ cord and Cefnllys'groups also suifered in this way. It is known that rodents at times have population explOtlions of short,dlU"ation,and it is our hope that this is the cause :i:u. the present case. If so we may look for return to normal conditions in this arid ensuing years Our scheme is in some reapeets unique, and has aroused the interest of conservationists elsewhere. as well as that of the British Trust {or Ornithology. Mr. Chrill IMead of the B.T;O. has alSisted. us for two se~ns noW' by ringins :u.estlings. This work. done for us by Mr. Baillie,Dr. Boddington and Mr. Mead, will. it is hoped. in time t~row light upon the mysteries of bird migration. Of'local jn.terest w~ t~w capture ata Ledbury next-box in June 1968 of an adl,tlt cock Pied Flycatcher ·bearing a ring given to it when a nestling at M"occas in the previous June (1967) (C.W.W.).

RECOVERY OF THI~ SPAR.R.OW HAWK \ j ,~ • . ., ~ '.; . ; Prior to the ninClteen-fif.~es the Sparrow Hawk was a f~PliliaT bird of the Herefordshire countryside, despite persecu~on-by g~­ keepers in particular. It paid frequent visits to farm stack yards, preying on the SpalTows and Finches fo~nd feeding the,e.'j>efore the days of the combine harvester. Its nest waS oftebfbut\d.-Mth just a glimpse allowed of the departin~ female. tu themid~fi.fties a decline in me population· was apparent. This was ,begUn an,d etmtinued by the· wid~pread useof btga.ho­ chemicals etc. in agriculture, th.e Sparro~ Hawk lying at· the end of the·chain-Insect, Passerine, Predator. The relult was that the eggs of the Sparrow Hawk tended to become sterile, and for several years up to the mid-sixties ~o evidence of suceessfuJ breeding could be found. The species became very rare. Restrktions on the we of these c;hemicals wall introduced•. and in 1966 ,(aee H.O.C•• Report) lij:Veral )'QWJg were known to have heen lucceS&fully fledged. .since then the recovery has continued, and the bird i8 seen alm~ daily. HEIlEFORDtiHIIU: OR.NITHOLOGICAL REPOR.T, 1968

The following notes ,of a n~t in 1~ aXe of interest. April 26th. Nest containing one egg located by schoolboys... 28th. three;

May 12ili. SIX and female incu.bating. 26th. six June 5th. Hatching began. One chick. 9th. Five chicks. One addled egg removed.: 23rd. Five robust chi~. " ' 30th. Five, very uniform iI!' size, fully fledged, with much movement In nest, wing.extending, ete, ;, - ., July 7th. Having left nest they we're still present in the wood.

This nest was located in a wood some 3 acres in extent, sjtuated in an alder tree only 16leet from ground level. The surrnunding area was very boggy, and 'Vegetation 'both at ground level and above waa depee. F~om. June the n~t could not .qe ~ fwm20 feet. The diameter of tile strtu;tuie was2'!,inches, and ,the cup of the nest 5 inches, whiCh demonstrates why the female, when incubating, is.barely visible. . Droppings and down in the vicinity were very extensive, and twelve skeletons of birds wete f(,>und in the nest after vacation, mainly Bbckbirds and Finches. The male had a look-out per<:.h some 20yard, distant, and the plucking' stump was the same diatan,ce. It ma'y appear from these notes that undue risk was taken, with visitf, ,~f disturbance. b\l~ it is to the: lads' credit that tl\ey did not dUiclQse the whereabouts to anyone, neither did' they visit unaceom· pallied. At Shobdort, by contrast, Q.uringMay there was a,glaring example of :thoughtleSsness, wlJ,ere .tiritber.,felUJ}g in. a wood .• a:bounding with smil11~p«i~. destroyed llelits. (,If .Wren, .Robin, Goldfinch, Rc:dstart, Tits, Wbitet~oats .and POioSibly six Warblers. (T.RJA.). 346 HEREFORDSHIRE ORNITHOLOGICAL REPORT, ~968

CLASSIFffin NOTES (The serial numbers, nomenclature and order used below are those used in the "Checklist of the Birds of Great Britain and Ireland" published by the British Ornithologists' Union in 1952. Paragraphs prefixed H aoo R refer to Herefordshire and Radnorshire respectively).

5. GREAT CRESTED GREBE. H. Flintsham Pool. Jan. 8th, one (NW); Feb. 25,th, a pair (NW); April 6th, a pair; Oct. 6th, two (SE & ARM); Dec. 1st, two adults and one immature (NW). Eywood Pool. Feb. 3rd and 24th, a pair (NW); April 3rd, three (RHB); 6th, two pairs, one with nest (NW); May 12th, nest contains 4 eggs (NW); 28th, two adults and two young (CWW); June 9th, a pair with one large young (JLF); July 28th, one adult with two y<,>Ung an