May 11
Posted by sydney on May 11th, 2009
- 1791: May 11, 1791 – The down of willows floats in the air, conveying, & spreading about their seeds, & affording some birds a soft lining for their nests.
- 1788: May 11, 1788 – In some districts chafers swarm: I see none at Selborne. Cotton blows from the willows, & fills the air: with this substance some birds line their nests. Mr Burbey’s brown owl, which was a great washer, was drowned at last in a tub where there was too much water.
- 1785: May 11, 1785 – Severe drying exhausting drought. Cloudless days. The country all dust. Timothy the tortoise weighs 6 ae 11 13/4 oz. He spoils the lettuce under the fruit-wall: but will not touch the Dutch, while he can get at any coss.
- 1784: May 11, 1784 – Sowed sweet alyssum in basons on the borders. Wheat improves very much: the women weed it.
- 1782: May 11, 1782 – Peach & Nect. bloom scarce over yet: no fruit seems to be set. Vine-buds do not open at all. One of my neighbours, an intelligent, & observing man informs me, that about ten minutes before 8 o’clock in the eveing he discovered a great cluster of house swallows, 30 at least he supposes, perching on a willow that hung over the verge of James Knight’s upper pond. His attention was first drawn by the twittering of these birds, which sate motionless in a row on the bough, with their heads all one way, & by their weight pressing down the twig so that it nearly touched the water. In this situation he watched them ’till he could see no longer. Repeated accounts of this sort spring & fall induce us greatly to suspect that house swallows have some strong attachement to water independent of the matter of food; & that, if they do not retire into that element, they conceal themselves in the banks of pools & rivers during the uncomfortable months of winter.
An uncommon, & I think a new little bird frequents my garden, which I have great readon to think is the Pettichaps. It is common in some parts of the kingdom, & I have received formerly several dead specimens from Gibraltar. It much resembles the white throat, but has a more white, or rather silvery breast & belly; is restless & active like the willow-wrens, hopping from bough to bough, & examining every part for food. It also runs up the stems of the crown-imperials, & putting its head into the bells of those flowers, sips the liquor contained in the nectarium of each petal. It sometimes feeds like the hedge-sparrow, hopping about on the grass-plots & mown walks. - 1781: May 11, 1781 – Fern-owl chatters. When this bird is heard, summer is usually established.
- 1780: May 11, 1780 – Tortoise moves about, but does not feed yet.
- 1774: May 11, 1774 – Pulled the first lettuces, brown Dutch, which had stood the winter under the fruit-wall: they begin to loave.
- 1772: May 11, 1772 – The sedge-bird sings: variety of notes, but it’s manner is hurrying.
- 1771: May 11, 1771 – Cherry-trees begin to blossom. The sedge bird, Passer arundinaceus minor, of the Brit: zool sings about waters: variety of notes; but the manner is hurrying.
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