W. N. P. Barbellion’s diary, 1903

Am writing an essay on the life-history of insects and have abandoned the idea of writing on "How Cats Spend their Time."

Went with L---- out catapult shooting. While walking down the main road saw a Goldfinch, but very indistinctly--it might not have been one. Had some wonderful shots…

Went to A---- Wood with S---- and L----. Saw a Barn Owl (Strix flammea) flying in broad daylight. At A---- Woods, be it known, there is a steep cliff where we were…

Joe became the mother of one kitten to-day. It was born at 1.20. It is a tiny little thing. One would almost call it deformed. It is gray.

Our Goldfinch roosts at 5.30. Joe's kitten is a very small one. "Magpie" is its name.

Went our usual ramble. But we were unfortunate from the very beginning. First, when we reached the "Nightjar Field," we found there were two men at the bottom of it…

I was glad yesterday to see the egg season so well in. I shall have to get blow-pipes and egg drills. Spring has really arrived and even the grasshoppers are…

S---- and I have made a little hut in the woods out of a large natural hole in the ground by a big tree. We have pulled down branches all around it and stuck in…

In the evening, S---- and I cycled to S----, and when it was dark we went down on the rocks and lit a fire which crackled and burnt in the dusk of the evening....…

Went out with L---- to try to see the squirrels again. We could not find one and were just wondering if we should draw blank when L---- noticed one clinging to the…