140
THE BIRDS OF ESSEX.
in the neighbourhood, were observed (42) at Languard Point on June 22nd,
1884.
Mr. Fitch, who has taken great interest in our Essex Ravens, writes to me :—
" Mr. Gurney's plea for the Essex Ravens [50. i. 182] is sadly needed. I wish
we could enforce its protective influence. This year Mr. Harting, Mr. Belfrage
and myself saw the Ravens (a pair) on Osey shore on February 25th ; and on
Northey, on May 22nd, for the whole day, a pair were fighting with the
Kestrels and Crows that were nesting on the island. But, although seen on
both islands, they nested on neither. On April 15th, Mr. Miller Christy,
Messrs. Freeman and myself went to visit, as we hoped, the Osey nest. We
found the old nest lying in the ditch, where it had been seen by Mr. Christy
the year before, and Jordan (the resident on the island) told us the Ravens
were still there almost every day and had commenced a nest at the east end,
which we saw, far removed from their old quarters. This, however, they had
abandoned and he told us they must be nesting this year over the water ; he be-
lieved it was on my island (Northey). I found this nest, as I thought, on Brick
House, Mundon,—the same nest from which Newman had a young one, taken
last year. On my second visit, I found the tree (an elm) cut down, purposely to
destroy the young Ravens, but it was found their nest had not been used this year,
so no harm was done, except that done to the tree 1 This same day I found
the nest with the old bird on in a hedgerow elm between Iltney and White House
farms, Mundon. Upon enquiry, I found the tenant of Iltney (Mr. Isaac Granger)
knew of it, but wouldn't disturb the nest for the world. So here even supersti-
tion had its bright side. The tenant of White House (Mr. Daniel Mead) knew
nothing of it. I then hoped it was safe and this proved to be correct, but it is
the only nest I can hear of as having escaped destruction this year.
"To return to the Osey nests—now a thing of the past 1 fear. The follow-
ing is the tale of the young birds that have been taken from it by the same per-
sons, generally on Easter Monday:—In 1882, one (the rest had flown); 1883,
four ; 1884, none (the visit was too late : the young ones had gone) ; 1885, three ;
1886, four ; 1887, four and three of a second brood [50. i. 142] ; 1888, four. In
this year there was a second brood, which was not only taken by strangers, but
the nest was destroyed and thrown into the ditch beneath the tree. Thus twenty-
three young birds have been taken in seven years, and it is fair to suppose that
very few have been got off by their parents, although the second brood had only
lately been found out. This certainly was attempting to rear a family under
serious difficulties and speaks well for the indomitable perseverance of the Raven
as a breeder. It shows, also, its strong attachment to locality. These young
ones were not taken for sale purposes, although some of them made, and all
could have been disposed of at, more than Mr. Abel Chapman states.
" He says (Bird-Life of the Borders, pp. 19-20) :—' there are now only a few
spots remaining along the Borders where these fine birds are allowed to nest. With
young Ravens at half-a-guinea-a-piece, and the insatiable—ay, insane —greed of
" collectors " for British-killed specimens, it is wiser to omit names. If" natural-
ists " must all have Collections, why cannot they be satisfied with the beautiful
specimens which are so easily procurable from northern or eastern Europe, instead
of hastening the extirpation of this, and other scarce indigenous birds, by placing
a high premium on their heads ? ' Very good indeed, but humanum est errare !
I had a young Osey bird which was allowed its liberty and became very tame.
It was passionately attached to me, and frequently flew over more than one field
to accompany me home. When I was indoors, it hardly ever left the window-sill of
the room f was in. It was a deep grief to me to lose him on the night of the
flood (August 1st and 2nd), but not so to some other members of the household.
" The Fambridge Ravens were probably nesting somewhere on the Crouch, but
they had a rough time of it, and I cannot hear that the nest was found. In 1888,
Mr. William Laver had at least £10 worth of damage done to his ewes and lambs
by Ravens on Blue House farm, and when Walter King (the shepherd) found
them about again this spring (probably the same birds, as their presence was an-
nounced by a sheep being found dead with its eyes picked out), he dressed him-
self in the sheep's skin and laid up against some strawed hurdles on the marsh.