SCOTIA BAY, SOUTH ORKNEYS, 1903 91 



Dredge, 5 to 10 fathoms, gravel ami mud. One sea-urchin, one cushion-star. and 

 yellow star-fish, and a few pycnogons. 10 to 20 fathoms, mud, nil. Trawl, nil : 

 did not sink properly. 



/>'. |i',///. -(Jot last liateh of embrvos from little rookery. Some half-dozen or so 

 '"t ..... "_ms hatehed no\v. Saw eliipped rg^s of l.'itli. 14th. and 13th November, and 





-nine of the hatched eggs were of these dates. This gives a minimum incubation of :! I 

 davs. The gentoos are a little more courageous now, but still some will desert a chick 

 without showing fight, though others fought fiercely, more with flippers than with lieak 

 however; and decidedlv hard smacks thev can give with flippers. 



Other birds : adelia and a few ringed penguins, skuas, gulls, nellies, terns, paddies, 

 Wilson's and snowy petrels. 



Dec. \7tli. All twelve common species of birds seen riving about except <'M|PC 

 pigeons. During last week or so very few Cape pigeons have been seen rlyini: near 

 The Beach, but of course they can always be seen on their nests on the west side of 

 Uruguay Cove. 



Trap in 10 fathoms, mud, contained three fish, a few cushion-stars and many buckies. 



Trap No. 2 seems to have been carried away by a piece of ice. 



Dec. 18th. Paddy's nest in which one egg was dated (llth) has now three CLU:- : 

 left them there for future use. Got one egg in one of the nests in which two were got 

 on the llth. Found one other nest with two eggs, but unfortunately both got broken. 



Adelia penguins : chicks growing rapidly. Saw mother feeding youngsters. She 

 bends her head down till her bill is inclined at about 45 . with uppt'r mandible fuircr- 

 inoxt. Then the chicks suck up the semi-digested food, brought up from her stomach, 

 out of the hollow between the rarni of the upper mandible. 



Gentoo penguins : dated eggs, 33, 34 and 35 days laid, are on the point of hatching. 



Skua : the one which we saw sitting on the penguin's egg which we foisted (I >ec. 1 1th) 

 on her no longer does so. The egg has disappeared. 



Other birds about: ringed penguins, nellies, Wilson's and snowy petrels, terns, 

 shags and gulls. Two of the latter, mature birds, shot. 



Seals: numerous Weddell seals onshore in south corner of Scotia Bav. One l!o-s 

 seal which we tried to get. but it stood up on its fore-flippers like a walrus, then backed 

 in that position and fell down a crack between the ice-foot and a stranded Hoe. whence 

 it could neither get out nor could we budge it. Seemed to be a very old one from tin- 

 worn state of the teeth. Had 5 claws between 1^ and 2 ins. long on each fore-nipper. 



Trawl. Got trawl in good working order. Had a long haul in water of 2 to ."> 

 fathoms over varied bottom, mostly gravel and weed, but caught absolutely nothing. 



Dredge. In water \ to 14- fathoms deep (low tide), gravel, sand and mud. 

 Contents: numerous limpets, some buckies and chitons, lamellibrandi- (all emptv 

 shells), fifteen small greyish isopods, some with eggs on under surface of thorax, and 

 one red feathery species of holothurian which has also been got floating on the surface. 



Insects : some small red insects on moss (acarinids). 



