GREAT WHITE HERON photographed at Gweek, 6 p.m., October 4th, 1948. (Copyright photograph Mr. B. Melville Nicholas, Mawgan, Helston). TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Preamble ... ... ... ... ••• 3 The Weather of 1948. B. H. Ryves ... ... ... 5 General Bird Notes ... ... ... ... ... 6 General Remarks on Migrants ... ... ... ... 38 Arrivals and Departures of Migrants ... ... ... 39 Scilly Notes ... ... ... ... ... ... 41 The Walmsley Sanctuary ... ... ... ... 44 Census of Heronries. A. G. Parsons. ... ... ... 45 Observations on Roosting of Cornish Birds. C. J. Stevens 46 After the Storm. H. M. Quick ... ... 59 Balance Sheet ... ... ... ... ... 62 List of Members ... ... ... ... ... 64 EIGHTEENTH REPORT OF The Cornwall Bird Watching and Preservation Society 1948 Edited by B. H. RYVES and H. M. QUICK (kindly assisted by G. H. Harvey and A. G. Parsons). The year has shown a satisfactory increase in membership, 44 new members having joined, bringing the number up to 354. The Society is particularly glad to welcome a number of young recruits, who are contributing keen observations. We deeply regret the loss by death of six members. Miss D. Valentine's resignation as Joint Honorary Secretary is also deeply felt, but as she is now living permanently out of Corn­ wall she felt compelled to take the step. The Founder would like to take this opportunity of expressing his deep appreciation and gratitude for her ever patient and loyal co-operation throughout the eleven years of her partnership with him as Joint Honorary Secretary, and the whole Society will join with him in expressing their sense of loss. Our thanks are again due to Mr. Stuart Martyn for kindly auditing the accounts, and to Mr. Penrose and the Museum staff for their continued helpfulness. The retirement of Mr. J. L. Palmer from the Editorship of " The Western Morning News " is a cause for regret; the Society owes him a debt of gratitude for all that he has done for the cause of bird protection and bird study. It is satisfactory to report that it has not been found necessary to raise the subscription, which remains at 5/- and, we hope, will long continue to do so. The Annual General Meeting was held in the Museum, Truro, on Saturday, April 3rd, about forty members being present. After the business a talk by Mr. P. H. T. Hartley, on " Routine in bird life," illustrated with lantern slides, was much appreciated. A second General Meeting was held on October 14th in the Women's Institute Hall, Truro. No business was done, but a programme of films of bird life (kindly operated by Dr. Coombs) was shown to an audience of about 80 members and friends. There was a meeting of the Executive Committee on April 3rd. Two watchers have been employed during the year, with satisfactory results. The new County Bird Order of 1948 is now in force. It was enacted by the County Council after close consultation with the Society and is certainly the best and most comprehensive ever drawn up. Many of even the commonest birds now enjoy complete pro­ tection and the Walmsley Sanctuary is a specially scheduled area. 4 A badge of membership of the Society, showing a Puffin and the letters C.B.W.P.S., is now available in brooch form at the price of 3/-. Members are thanked for their many interesting reports. Though it is not possible to publish all the notes sent in, these form a useful body of information for future reference. For the benefit of new members, the Editors repeat their request that those who send in complete annual lists of their bird records will do so in the following manner: 1. Use one side of the paper only. 2. Follow the order in the list of species, which can be supplied to anyone asking for it. 3. Send not later than January 15th, after which date nothing can be accepted, to Miss Quick, Clarence Cottage, Penzance. Letters are welcome at any time from those who do not care to compile an annual record. The worst bird news of the year is the apparent failure of Choughs to rear broods, while the fact that only two eyries of Peregrines have been reported is not encouraging. On the credit side is the return of some of the species which were badly hit by the "Ice Age," notably Long-tailed Tits and Goldcrests: the first recorded breeding of the Willow-Tit in Cornwall: and the finding of a new Kittiwake colony. The year also brought many unusual visitors to Cornwall, among them a Snowy Owl, a Great White Heron, and an American Pectoral Sandpiper. A very tame Whooper Swan paid a long visit, and the storms of early December brought inshore a number of Grey Phalaropes and Petrels. One wonders if the appar­ ent increase in Blackcaps in the extreme west may be, in fact, only an increase in the number of observers in that district who can recognise the song! A pleasant story (from E.C.) gives an unusual reaction by birds to a watcher. " My little white cat, who in spite of being a blame­ less bachelor has an overgrown maternal instinct, climbs up into the trees in the orchard and sits happily by the hour watching the nests of thrushes and blackbirds—a few inches away—and the parent birds completely ignore him! " Another communication of an unusual nature has been for­ warded to us by R.H.B., and as it fits into no other category, is given below: NOTES FROM MY DIARY. ... A. Cuckoo, F.C.M.W.S.* April 1st. On arriving in Cornwall after a somewhat stormy journey by air from Africa, I lost no time in choosing a strategic position near the edge of a wood, delighted at the opportunity of resuming my researches. I had hardly begun calling to attract the bipeds, when a move­ ment in the bushes in the middle distance drew my attention. I had no difficulty in identifying a pair of Common Birdwatchers (Homo binocularis) and, to my delight, as I continued calling I was able to observe the characteristic " display," viz., raising and lowering of the objects from which the specific name is derived. 5 Nor was this all on this auspicious occasion, for shortly they Were joined by an example of the rare Greater Birdwatcher (Homo telescopicus) which was also seen to display with its peculiar con­ tractile device fully extended. What a day! * Fellow of the Cuckoos' Man-watching Society. THE WEATHER OF 1948 by B. H. Ryves. The most noteworthy features of the year were that May pro­ vided the only real summer weather; that the summer itself was dull and wet, making against the corn harvest; and that late autumn and early winter were very wet and stormy, bringing to shore and land a phenomenal number of Leach's Petrels and Phalaropes (described elsewhere in this Report). January was, as a whole, very wet and mild with but little sun­ shine. On the 20th, the coldest day, a Blackbird was heard in full song. February. The mild conditions continued during the first half. The second half brought the only severe cold of the year—sharp frosts, but no snow—the spell was hardly long enough appreciably to affect the welfare or movements of birds. March was very dry and mild with some really warm days. Heavy rain fell at the end of the month. April. The first week was wet and cold. The rest of the month was very variable, sometimes warm and often cold, with heavy rains and gales. May was a glorious month which made life good to live—warm and dry with much sunshine. During the middle of the month a heat-wave persisted for several days. June opened with cooler weather and, on the 6th, there was a Southerly gale with drenching rain. A few warm days followed, but wet conditions returned with strong Southerly winds. The last ten days were cool and usually blowy. July was mainly dry, cool and sunless until about the 24th. The month ended with a heat-wave, the 28th being excessively hot. August was, on the whole, dull, cool and wet, but ended with a day or two of warm conditions. September. Much rain fell during the first half of the month, after which it became dry and mainly warm. October continued warm and dry up to the 10th. Then there were several rainy days, culminating in fogs. On the 25th, there was a cloud-burst and heavy rain fell again on the 28th. November can best be described as very mild, wet, foggy and blowy. December. During the first half of the month much heavy ram fell, driven by Southerly gales. On the 18th, an Easterly current developed and lasted until the 28th; although there was no frost, the sky remained overcast and temperatures were low and, for man at least, the atmospheric conditions were most unpleasant. The year went out with deluges of rain. 6 GENERAL BIRD NOTES FOR 1948 List of Contributors. R.M.A.—R. M. Andain, St. Agnes. A.W.A.—A. W. Andrews, Zennor. C.H.B.—Capt. C. H. Bailhache, Tintagel. J.E.B.—The Rev. J. E. Beckerlegge, Penzance. A.T.B.—A. T. Beswetherick, Mawgan-in-Pydar. R.S.H.B.—R. S. H. Beswetherick, Mawgan-in-Pydar. N.H.B.—N. H. Biddle, Mousehole. R.H.B.—Dr. R. H. Blair, Camborne. E.H.W.B.—Lt.-Col. E. H. W. Bolitho, Madron. H.V.B.—Dr. H. V. Brown, Wadebridge. M.J.B.—M. J. Brown, Boscastle. E.A.R.B.—Major E. A. R. Burden, Trebetherick. D.B.—D.