52
THE ESSEX NATURALIST.
breeding in the park. Mr. Hanbury informs me that four dead
Herons were found in the park in 1934, apparently the result of
starvation. He attributes this to the drought.
I received a communication from Col. R. Sparrow, of Colne
Engaine, that there were three Herons' nests in 1935 in Park
Hall Wood, near Gosfield Lake. Major A. Maitland Tabor,
of Bovingdon Hall, Braintree, on whose estate this colony is
situated, has given me particulars of it. About 1927 a thousand
trout were turned down in a stream about a mile from Park Hall
Wood. Previous to that only an occasional Heron had been
seen fishing in the stream, and there were a few trout then in the
water. Two days after the introduction of the trout Major Tabor
walked along the stream to see if any trout were dead when he
put up five Herons. At this time one nest was constructed in
Park Hall Wood, and since there have always been one or two
nests. On 20th March, 1935, Major Tabor visited the wood
and counted three nests, one finished and the other two nearly
so. There were no signs of young birds. The old birds were
flying around manifesting their objection to the intruder, but on
account of the thickness of the wood they could not be counted.
The keeper states that in 1934 when young were in the nest the
ground was covered with fresh water newts, which had been
brought home and apparently dropped as uneatable. Major
Tabor adds that it is rumoured that at different times during
the last sixty years there have been occasional nests in the
vicinity of the lake in Gosfield Park, and that the nearest rookeries
to Park Hall Wood are at Gosfield, about a mile away, and
Abbots Hall, about one-and-a-half-mile distant. The present
information is the first reliable evidence we have had of the
nesting of the Heron either at Gosfield or Hylands.
I take this opportunity to thank Messrs, G. Dent, C. G.
Hanbury, Col. R. Sparrow and Major A. M. Tabor for their
assistance.
Black Redstart at Chingford.—In British Birds for June, 1935,
Mr. K. R. Ashby records the occurrence of a Black Redstart (Phoenicurus O.
gibraltariensis) at King George's Reservoir, Chingford, on January 26th,
1935.—Ed.