180
THE ESSEX NATURALIST.
under the Act of 1897; and the [13] King George (4251/2 acres,
depth 27.5 to 32.3 ft.) under the act of 1900. The last-
mentioned was started in April, 1908, and finished in March,
1913. Nos. 1, 2, 3, 5, the Racecourse, East Warwick and
High Maynard all possess islands, mostly covered with bushes
and trees, which form valuable nesting sites for birds. Most
of those from the Racecourse to the Maynards have banks which
are more suitable to some species of birds than are those of the
larger reservoirs to the north.
The influence of the Lea affects, although indirectly, in
another manner the bird-life of the reservoirs, as there are at
no great distance four sewage farms (although only one is in
Essex) which attract many birds, the winter gatherings of
Snipe being particularly noticeable. The immediate surroundings
of the reservoirs are not altogether suitable for bird-life. At
the southern end they are situated in the densely populated
suburb of Walthamstow and at the extreme north, although
there are open fields, there are large factories along one side
of the King George.
In the early days of the existence of the reservoirs (some of
them must have been constructed before 1870) it is not surprising
that they were Ornithologically neglected, for in those days
the significance of such sheets of water was unknown, and it
was not until 1890 that anything appeared in print on the
subject. In that year H. Chipperfield, although he does not
say very much, refers to them in a paper entitled Birds of
North-East London. It is true that this author refrains from
stating the locality, but there can be no doubt that some of the
experiences of Dr. G. H. Vos as described in his book, Birds
and their Nests and Eggs, etc., published in 1907, referred to these
reservoirs. This writer subsequently admitted that the photo-
graph of a nest, labelled "Pochard," really belonged to the
Great Crested Grebe. The opportunity for bird-study as
afforded by the reservoirs is to-day fully realised by field-
observers, as is evidenced by the bibliography, for while before
1900 nothing had been written, I am able to present to-day
a list of thirty-seven contributions, and, in addition to these,
innumerable records have been included in local lists. This
present account is based on all the matter contained in the
bibliography, on my own observations, which have extended