THE BIRDS OF FAIR ISLE ' 85 



Storm Petrel, Procellaria pelagica. — A bird just able to fly 

 was captured at the lantern of the Skaddan Lighthouse 

 at 9 P.M. on 2nd October. This visitor to the light was 

 fully feathered on its upper surface and neck ; but its wings 

 and tail had not nearly attained their full length, and its 

 chest and abdomen were entirely clad in a mass of down. 

 One would hardly have expected to find such a youngster 

 on the wing, and perhaps less as a visitor to a lofty beacon ; 

 and should a bird so attired have alighted on the water, as 

 seems certain, then its nether plumage would become about 

 as water-logged as a sponge. 



THE BAR-TAILED GODWIT AS A SOLWAY 



BIRD. 



By Robert Service, M.B.O.U 



This species is a very regular visitant to the muddy portions 



of the Solway shores (" mud " being relatively greatly scarcer 



than " sand " on our long flat stretches) at the normal 



migration periods, though but seldom in large flocks. For 



a series of years in succession this elegant bird will appear 



in autumn in much larger flocks — say 150 to 400 birds, 



and on such occasions many large or small parties remain 



the whole winter, though the tendency to dwindle in number 



as the season goes on is well marked. The whole of 



the winters of the '8o's were marked by a continuance of 



the Bar-tailed Godwits. The decade following was just as 



strongly marked by sharply defined autumn and spring visits 



only. In more recent seasons only few have put in an 



appearance in autumn, and very seldom have I seen them 



at all during winter proper. This current season has been, 



up to the present time, remarkable for the large numbers on 



the Solway. I heard of them from many localities, but the 



first that came under my own observation was on December 



1 2th, 1907, not far from the town of Kirkcudbright. Here, 



all along the green grass merse that extends from the 



Artillery Battery along the eastern margin of what is partly 



estuary of the Dee, but mainly inlet of the sea, towards the 



