BREEDING COLONIES OF THE BLACK-HEADED GULL 75 



Blackwood, Peebles. The occurrence of this place-name in 

 the plan of 1796 is most interesting-, and affords clear 

 evidence that the Gulls (Maws) were a well-established 

 feature of the locality even then. In reality the gullery 

 is not confined to the Midlothian side of the boundary 

 fence, but extends on to Harlaw Moor ; while an intimate 

 connection exists between it and other sites in the Lamancha 

 and Coalyburn direction. 



My first visit to the Auchencorth gullery was made in 

 May 1 866, and I still have the two eggs I then brought 

 away. My guide was an employee on Penicuik estate who 

 had known the colony for over thirty years. The Gulls were 

 not numerous and less than a dozen nests with eggs were seen, 

 but we only examined the north or "flow" end of the Moss, 

 " Breeds sparingly on Auchencorth Moss, near Penicuik," is 

 the note I made at the time. Since then I have been over 

 the Moss in the nesting season on many occasions and have 

 always found some of the Gulls breeding on it, though the 

 numbers fluctuate greatly from time to time, as the birds 

 favour the Midlothian or the Peeblesshire sites. In June 

 1885, they were mainly on the Auchencorth ground, where 

 on the 6th I found many nests, scattered over the moor, 

 and estimated the entire colony at " 800 to 1000 birds." On 

 19th May 1887, I found the main gathering (300 birds at 

 most) on the Coalyburn Moor and only twenty to thirty pairs 

 on Auchencorth. In 1888 Mr Raeburn reported conditions 

 very much the same. On 28th April 1889 he counted about 

 fifty nests only two of which contained more than one 

 egg on Auchencorth, where on 3rd May, though some 

 200 Gulls were flying about, I could see no more than thirty 

 nests with eggs; doubtless eggers had been over the ground 

 in the interval. In 1890 and 1891 my notes record "a good 

 many," and " many " nests with eggs on 4th and 9th May 

 respectively. On 30th April 1894 Mr R. Godfrey counted 

 thirteen nests with eggs on part of Auchencorth, and three 

 (one egg each) at Marfield Loch on the opposite side of the 

 River Esk, where a pair or two now and again attempt to 

 breed. In 1897 and 1898 the number nesting on Auchencorth 

 may be put roughly at fifty pairs. Since then I have not 

 been following the fortunes of the colony close!}', but such 



