41
August 15th; High Beach (two seen), August 22nd; High Beach,
Honey Lane Quarters and Bell Common, September 19th.
British Great Spotted Woodpecker (Dryobates major anglicus).—
Numerously recorded throughout year. Five nests, between Chingford
Wood and Hill Wood, were under observation during the season, four
being in beech trees and one in a crab tree, all containing one or more
young. The nestlings were first heard "chanting" on June 6th, and,
on the same day, while the female bird was feeding young at one of
the nests, a starling (having a nest near by in a beech tree) was
observed to dart into the nesting hole over the head of the adult bird
and remained there for some time. On June 12th one of the young
birds was found dead at the foot of this tree. Other nests were
observed at Jack's Hill, May 22nd, in a decayed birch. the mass of
chips being very remarkable. In Monk Wood, June 13th, two adults
and two young were flying about, calling loudly and incessantly.
Lesser Spotted Woodpecker (Dryobates minor).—Seen and heard
several times, High Beach, February 1st ; Hill Wood, February 2nd,
15th, March 21st, April 17th and June 6th ; heard once and seen
several times in oaks, probably same bird, also observed "moving
backwards," Bury Wood, March 7th ; call heard and bird watched
"drumming," Fairmead Pond, May 9th ; Highams Park, April 10th,
December 19th and 16th.
Green Woodpecker (Picus viridis).—Hill Wood, February 2nd,
March 20th (calling persistently), April 17th and May 8th ; Fairmead
Bottom, February 1st, 7th ( f. flushed, bird sat so exposed that sex
could be determined by moustachial streak), March 7th (calling), April
10th, June 6th and December 30th ; Old Church Plain, June 6th,
August 15th, November 14th (seen and heard) : Warren Plain, August
1st; Strawberry Hill, February 1st, April 11th, December 21st;
Blackbush Plain, August 15th ; High Beach, February 1st, May 3rd ;
Broad Strood, July 10th; Red Path, February 28th ; Whitehall
Plain, December 26th.
Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus).—Recorded from Bury Wood, Chingford
Plain, Fairmead, High Beech, Hill Wood, Long Hills, Warren Hill
and Plain, and Yardley Hill. First heard, Yardley Hill, April 18th ;
High Beach, m. and f. heard, May 3rd.
Swift (Micropus apus).—Fairmead, April 29th, Warren Hill, May
15th; Chingford Plain, June 6th; Yardley Hill, July 18th.
Nightjar (Caprimulgus europaeus).—Clay Bide, May 12th; Jack's
Hill, May 15th, m. and f. , and May '22nd. One roosted in field
belonging to Bancroft's School, Woodford, for several days at the end
of August and on September 1st (H. (J. Playne).
Kingfisher (Alcala ispida).—Mr. H. C. Playne reported that in
May the birds returned to the Ching at Woodford for a few days, but
went off again without nesting there ; Connaught Water, December 5th.
Tawny Owl (Strix aluco).—Chingford Wood, calling at 7 p.m.,
March 20th ; St, Thomas's Quarters, calling at 1 p.m., September
19th.
1921