Bird Notes and News, 1916-1917 - The Journal of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds; 1916-1917; With Contents and Index #233028

A summer and winter spent at the front, and at the back of the front, have proved to me that the north of France is no birdless region. The noise and bustle of war do not drive away the birds, even from the trenches, and I can remember no nesting season which introduced more birds unknown to me than last summer. Sitting still is a common military manoeuvre, and one can watch birds common in England as well as in France, and others which seldom cross the Channel. In March and April I was stationed at a small chateau in very open country with a minute copse behind it. This copse about the end of March was crowded for a fortnight with Redwings and Fieldfares, as well as scattered individuals of other species. A sprinkling of Golden-crested Wrens kept arriving, resting a short while, and passing on, and one morning a single very tired looking hen Fire-crest took possession of the one fir tree there.