268 WITH NATURE AXD A CAMERA. 



tlian a vig-oroiis j^cck at liis 1(\l>s. In one case a 

 bird in the foreground spoilt a })i(;ture.squo group 

 wliieli my brother desired to take, and, as she 

 would not leave her young one, 1 was obliged to 

 push her off the cliff with my cap folded tightly 

 round my right hand. 



I w^as greatly astonished at the length of time 

 such large birds coidd remain poised over one 

 particular spot, with their wings outstretched and 

 nujtionless. Of course, it was managed by taking- 

 advantage of the pressure of a strong and steady 

 breeze striking the lace of the cliff and then being- 

 deflected upwards, but the grace and api)arent ease 

 of it were truly marvellous. 



My brother was anxious to obtain a picture 

 showing a good crowd of Gannets in it ; and when 

 he descended for that purpose to the very edge of 

 the cliff, and began to stalk the birds (with his 

 camera in front of him) from ledge to ledge — off 

 any of which the slightest slip meant a headlong 

 plunge of a hundred and fifty feet into the sea 

 below — I saw one of the men who had accom- 

 })anied us in the boat turn aAvay, and heard him 

 mutter to himself, " Venturesome divel ! he'll never 

 o-o off the Bass alive." 



While we were at work a flock consisting of 

 several hundreds left the rock, and, flying out into 

 the Firth of Forth, went through a mazy sort of 

 aerial waltz, which lasted half an hour. 



The Bass Rock is a nuich easier and safer 

 place to visit than Ailsa C*raig, but, except 

 in the case of Gannets, it is not so rich in sea- 

 bird life. 



Whilst walking round the loose sides of the 

 latter, PulHns scuittle out of every conceivable and 

 inconceivable hole and cranny, and arc easily 



