THE PROTECTION OF WILD BIRDS IN ESSEX. 49
Council, and we may hope that the Secretary of State will sanction
their adoption.
Finally we have great pleasure in noticing the very important
steps recently taken by Mr. E. N. Buxton, one of the Verderers, and
Vice-President of the Club, for the extended protection of several
interesting birds within the Epping Forest districts. The scheme
will be best explained in Mr. Buxton's own words, in a summary of
a speech he made at a meeting of the Club at High Beach on May
18th, 1895. The matter will be more appropriately recorded in this
place rather than in the account of the meeting :—
Mr. Buxton commenced by saying that he did not pretend to be a naturalist,
except so far as he had used his own powers of observation. He was only a
beginner, for he found that he learnt something new every time he went into the
Forest. He was happy to say that Epping Forest was a sanctuary for all kinds
of wild life, even for what is generally, in keepers' language, described as
"vermin." The rule of the Epping Forest Committee was a strict one in this
respect—that nothing shall be destroyed except by special order of the Committee,
and then only if it is proved to be injurious. Thus, for instance, the rooks,
which build in great numbers on the same island as the herons and quarrel with
them for sticks, are limited in number for the peace of mind of that colony, and
the deer, when they are complained of for eating the neighbours' clover, must be
checked.
" It has occurred to me," Mr. Buxton continued, "that this sanctuary, which
is 6,000 acres in extent, might be extended by the goodwill of the adjoining pro-
prietors.
" The birds most in need of protection are those which are regarded by the
gamekeepers, rightly or wrongly, as their enemies. I have been remarkably
successful in enlisting the sympathy of nearly all the proprietors whose land
touches the Forest in this little experiment [see list of estates joined in the league
below]. I have however had, for the sake of unanimity, to limit the birds
protected to a very modest list. They are as follows :
" All the family of Owls, all the Hawks (except the Sparrow-hawk), Magpie,
Peewit, Heron, and Kingfisher. There is no doubt that the Owls in former times
were regarded as friends by the farmers, for we find 'owl-holes,' left in the old
barns that these birds might come in and out in search of mice. I should gladly
have included in my list the Sparrow-hawk, and many of those who have com-
bined will continue to preserve this interesting bird in spite of its murderous propen-
sities. There is a pair at the present moment in my wood, as I know very well by
the remains I have found of wood-pigeons and other birds. The mistake that the
gamekeepers make is in confounding the harmless Kestrels with the rapacious
Sparrow-hawk.
" The Magpie is another bird full of wickedness ; but it has got so scarce in
this neighbourhood that I am glad to be able to do something to prevent its total
extinction. I know of three separate pairs this year in the immediate neighbour-
hood of the Forest. One of these is building at Wanstead.
" I would also gladly have included wild ducks, but I find that of our little
D