NOTES 239 



Kingfisher at the Isle of May Lantern. On the morning 

 of 3rd September I found a Kingfisher (Alcedo ispida ispidd) lying 

 dead on the roof of the houses, below the lighthouse tower. It 

 must have struck the lantern the previous night ; the weather was 

 hazy with a light westerly wind. As the Kingfisher has not 

 previously been recorded from the Isle of May, I think it may be 

 worth a note. Sim Baigrie, Isle of May. 



Dotterel at the Isle of May and Mull of Galloway 

 Lanterns. On the nights of 29th to 30th and 30th to 31st 

 August, Dotterel (C/iaradrius morinellus) were plentiful round the 

 lantern of the Isle of May. I am safe to say there were hundreds 

 of them on the latter night circling round the light. Sometimes 

 they came on in a flock, perhaps newly arrived and attracted by the 

 noise made by those already in the vicinity. A good many struck 

 the glass of the lantern. I picked up four killed and two very badly 

 hurt, while others were dazed for some time. They most often 

 struck when coming up in a flock, and many more must have been 

 hurt. I saw one running about with a broken wing for some days 

 after. The weather on the first night was foggy, wind S.E. to S.W., 

 light; on the latter it was E. and N.E., light breeze, cloudy, rain 

 and fog. There were a good many other birds at the lantern both 

 nights, far the most numerous being Wheatears. Sim Baigrie, 

 Isle of May Lighthouse. 



On the night of 29th to 30th August there was a steady drizzle 

 of rain, the wind was blowing lightly from the west, and there were 

 a good many birds about the lantern of the Mull of Galloway, 

 Wheatears being the most abundant. About 10.30 P.M. I first 

 noticed a flock of Dotterel circling round the lantern ; three struck 

 shortly after 1 1, and a little later another came in contact with the 

 dome and was found dead next morning. Just before going off 

 duty I counted the flock and found there were still eleven birds 

 in it. Charles H. Braid, Mull of Galloway Lighthouse. 



[There are few Scottish records of the autumn passage of 

 Dotterel, and the above notes are valuable evidence of a wide- 

 spread movement of this species on our coasts in the end of 

 August. Mr Baigrie and Mr Braid were kind enough to send 

 specimens of the birds killed to the Misses Baxter and Rintoul. 

 Eds.] 



Death's-head Moth near Peebles. A specimen of the 

 Death's-head Moth {Acherontia atropos) was taken in Lyne Valley, 

 about 7 miles from Peebles, about the beginning of this month, 

 It was captured by a little girl, a daughter of Ferguson the shepherd 



