. Pictures of bird life : on woodland meadow, mountain and marsh . ly becausenobody takes the slightest notice of them. The area overwhich the Bearded Tit is to be foimd is so restricted thatthe species is in imminent danger of speedy wonder is, not that there are so few left, but thatthere are any at all, considering how unmercifidly the eggsha\e been taken, and how perfectly easy it is for anybodyto shoot them. But the Harriers are in a nmch worse plight than theBearded Tits. The Hen-harrier has quite gone, none havingnested now for many years ; the JNIarsh-harrier has almostg
. Pictures of bird life : on woodland meadow, mountain and marsh . ly becausenobody takes the slightest notice of them. The area overwhich the Bearded Tit is to be foimd is so restricted thatthe species is in imminent danger of speedy wonder is, not that there are so few left, but thatthere are any at all, considering how unmercifidly the eggsha\e been taken, and how perfectly easy it is for anybodyto shoot them. But the Harriers are in a nmch worse plight than theBearded Tits. The Hen-harrier has quite gone, none havingnested now for many years ; the JNIarsh-harrier has almostgone (the last nest was in 1899, but both birds weretrapped) ; Montagues Harrier still lingers, and on rareoccasions a brood of young are hatched, but seldom reachmaturity; and in a few years this fine species will benumbered with those of other days, and no more will thesight of it quartering the marsh delight the bird-lover. It was therefore a great pleasure to be able to photo-graph a nest of four eggs, though the pleasure was discounted The Norfolk Broads 217. Head of dead Short-eared Owl. Facial Disk lifted to show True Ear. by tlie knowledo-e that the nest was a deserted one. Tliesituation was a small open space on tlie groinid in tliemidst of a perfect sea of sedge the height of a man. Sucha nest in sucli a spot can only be found by the mostpatient watching of the old birds. Xot far away we pickedup some half-de\oured remains of a le\eret, for which,I fear, the Harriers were responsible. This day was a memorable one, for we liad that samemorning pliotographed a nest of another rarity—that of aShort-eared Owl. This was also among sedge and ruslies,the mowing of wliich liad disturbed the sitting bird fromher six eggs, causing her to desert them. Tliough a circlehad been left uncut all round lier, slie never returnedto them. 218 Pictures of Bird Life This Owl is known as the ^larsh-owl in this district, andoften elsewhere as the A\o()dcock-owl. It is a migratoryspecies, ar
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, booksubjectbirdspi, bookyear1903
