Modern Cliff-Dwellers 



to protect the birds ? This is something that 

 bird-lovers may well strive to have accomplished. 



Never can I forget the impressions of the Sunday 

 that I spent on Bird Rock. The skv was overcast, 

 with a very strong wind from the south-east, raw 

 and chill, with occasional showers. The mercury 

 did not rise above 50 degrees during the dav, and 

 the heaviest clothing was none too warm. Bundled 

 up in overcoat and rubber-boots, I sat on the edge 

 of the clitF among the rocks at the south end, and 

 "beheld the fowls of the air." If pc>ssible, the 

 spectacle was even more impressive than on the 

 previous days of mv stay, for it seemed as though 

 every bird was in motion. This was in accord with 

 the Keeper's observation that the birds tiy most in 

 windy weather. They were like the ships, that 

 spread their sails to the favouring breezes. Each 

 individual bird, seemingly, would sit upon its egg 

 or eggs just enough to keep them warm, starting 

 away for a few turns out over the water at frequent 

 intervals. I could never tire ot these sights. 



On Monday morning the sky was again over- 

 cast, and, just as I had set out the camera to try a 

 short ''time exposure" on some Puffins, the rain 

 began, and poured down furiously most of the day. 

 Banks of fog lay off around the Rock, and the 

 dynamite bomb exploded regularly every twenty 

 minutes, the warning to vessels. The time was 

 when these fog-signals frightened the birds, causing 

 them to start so hurriedly from their nests as to 

 cause many eggs to fall down the cliffs. But now I 



81 



