Recent Birds round Lowestoft

RECENT BIRD3 ROUND

LOWESTOFT.

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in large flocks, one gaggle of Grey Geese, numerous Scaup and Sheld-duck, many Scoters, several flocks of Sanderlings, one Common Snipe and an immature Glaucous Gull: all seen by me within two hours. On 11 December a Waxwing, by uttering its plaintive tremulous cry from a wire fence while I was in my garden near St. Margaret's church, drew my attention to the arrival of a small party; its three companions were gorging themselves on rose-hips in an adjacent hedge, and they remained with us tili about 10 February. A Hooded Crow, shot at Somerleyton on 12 December, had been captured on migration at Labiau in east Prussia and was ringed on 11 April 1935 ; it was then released at Flensburg in Schleswig. I have been credibly informed that a pair of Magpies has nested at Corton for the past two seasons.

With the advent of 1936, the first event was the number of bird-corpses washed ashore by the second week of February's south-east winds : Master H. Jenner found nineteen Guillemots, a Razorbill, three Red-throated Divers, three Scoters, a Sheldduck and four Gulls, all more or less smeared with oil, between Kessingland and Gorleston. Redwings were to be heard singing in Normanston Park any morning thence to the end of March ; and a flock of Fieldfares remained about north Flixton marshes tili 5 May. For several days during early March, a flock of some thirty Bramblings consorted with Greenfinches and Chaffinches m an orchard in St. Peter's Street here. One morning, while our Member, Mr. Jenner and I were watching them, they all flew up into the trees and were heard singing in a very pleasing subdued kind of chorus : so far I have not been able to come at any reference at all to Bramblings singing in Britain. Several Kittnoakes were seen on 14 March about the Lowestoft herring dock, where they stayed for some days, extremely tarne and sometimes sitting on a rail within arms'-length of the fishworkers. About a half-dozen turned up there again in late August, and were still present at the end of September.

They delighted in sunning themselves on the market's sloping roof, crouched in just the same attitude as one sees them assume on the rocky ledges of their breeding quarters.

Strictly speaking Kittiwakes are pelagic Gulls, and such visits to this harbour essentially variations from their normal habits.

Ticehurst attributes all their occurrences inshore to sickness or weather-stress: with this theory my experience coincides.

Bitterns' booming indicated breeding at all previously recorded locahties again this season, and evidence of such breeding was not wanting in at least two new places in the north-east corner ot our Countv. On 26 April I heard two simultaneously booming in the coast marshes of mid-Suffolk. I have been told recently that a shot Bittern was hanging ignominiously upon a post beside Uulton Dvke [an object cauterised most justly in E. Daily

121 south-easterly wind was blowing on 10 September*, when Dr. Maidment saw a Dotterel (Eudromias morinellus, L.) on Benacre den es : it was again observed on both 1 Ith and 13th, when he was able to secure several fairly close-range photographs of it without a hide. On the lOth thefirstRedstarts and Pied Flycatchers appeared; the next day began what undoubtedly is the greatest rush of migrants for a good many years.

I saw thefirstBluethroat about allotment-gardens in Water I.ane on 13th ; and the most striking feature of the migration was the astonishing number of Wheatears, including a fair sprinkling of the larger northern form, which now arrived ; these birds' number culminated on 17th, when they swarmed everywhere, even in Lowestoft's centre ; our Member, Mr. Long found one in his Pakefield house, doubtless attracted by light, in earlv morning. I discovered another Bluethroat on 21 st, about theabove gardens : this bird, quite unlike others of the kind I have seen, was extremely tarne and allowed fairly close Observation ; it stayed about the same spot for five days and was seen to be feeding on small green caterpillars, ripe elderberries and once it captured a Crane Fly (Tipula sp.). Both Dr. Maidment and Mr. Jenner independently reported that, while they watched this Bluethroat, another intruded upon its private territory and was promptly ejected in a very pugnacious, Robin-like manner.

Yet another Bluethroat appeared to me upon Gunton Cliff on 23rd ; and some half-dozen tail-feathers, found on the middle ot the denes, had belonged to the same species. The wind changed to north-east on 25th, with much lower temperature : the next morning most of the smaller migrants had passed on.

The firstflockof Sky Larks arrived from the east on 25th ; and thefirstSnoiv Bunting was come by 27th. On the 29 September several Sandwich Terns were observed plunging for Whitebait in Lowestoft harbour.

RECENT BIRDS ROUND LOWESTOFT.

CRITICAL NOTES ON OUR BEETLES.

BY THE LATE ERNEST A. ELIIOTT, F.Z.S., F.E.S., ETC.

recording the total of 2056 different species of Beetles to have been found in Suffolk, 1 took occasion to remark ( Trans, i, p. 121) that others yet awaited discovery among both kinds that are reallv rare, and those kind that are common enough everywhere but so similar to recorded species as to have evaded detection hitherto. While rearranging a part of his collection this year, our Hon. Secretarv has been able to WHEN

*In my 1935 notes (Trans, iii, p. 111) the Swift was last seen on 16 not September.—F.C.C.

OCTOBER,

A

HAUNT

OF S U F F O L K

BIRDS,

1936.