Читать книгу Guernsey Pictorial Directory and Stranger's Guide - of Guernsey Thomas Bellamy - Страница 14

That are constantly with us are: the red legged crow, the common crow, sparrow,[A] tit-mouse, long tailed do., common wren, golden crested do., lark, sky do., magpie, sparrow-hawk, blackbird, and thrush. Those which occasionally visit us or remain only throughout the winter season are: the ring dotterel, skitty, quail,[B] plover, starling, red-wing, fieldfare, curlew, tern, snipe, woodcock,[C] &c. The swallow and swift generally leaves us about the middle of October and return in the spring. Perhaps no place of equal extent can boast of having such a variety of birds, for besides the above we have the occasional visit of the hoopoe, ring-ouzel, mountain-finch, hooded crow, golden oriole, sanderling, godwit, lapwing, grey plover, Northern diver, wild goose, brent do., wild duck, together with a few others of the hawk tribe. The heron may be said to be rather peculiar to the small adjacent Island of Herm; and those beautiful birds, the bittern and egret, were both shot by a person in the fens, technically called by sportsmen the "Pontine Marshes."

[A] Sparrows are exceedingly numerous and work great ravages in corn and other grain fields, wherefore the States for years past, have granted an annual sum of £70 or so much per head for their destruction. At a meeting of the States for 1830, an Act was passed by way of awarding a premium for the further destruction of sparrows, wherein it was agreed, for that year only, to give four doubles for every sparrows head, and one for each egg.

[B] According to a memorandum dated Nov. 19, 1841, the author has:—"Shot a quail in a sand field behind Mr De Lisle's house, Grande Rocque, which on opening had its crop full of cress seed, with a few berries of the common nightshade. From this it would seem they are fond of hot seeds and poisonous berries. Also killed three terns at one shot on my passage to Herm in a boat, which are rare kind of birds."

[C] In a memorandum dated the 10th Nov., 1842, I find my old cat "Pinkey" caught a fine woodcock down near a little straw built duckery on the margin of a brook over-run with trees, osiers, and willows. This to the sportsman may appear remarkably strange, and tend to convince him that woodcocks are not over and above scarce here.