468 TRAVELS OF A NATURALIST 



also seen them doing it at Mezen over and over again 

 during the moulting season, but not at other times, 

 not even when w^ounded. 



Piottuch and the men, having now seen the place, 

 acknowledge that it is a river and not an inlet or narrow 

 arm of the sea ! Before was pure imagination ! 



We spent a somewhat lazy day, gathering a few 

 flowers of the tundra, and from the Stint ground, and 

 shooting a Keeve in its new plumage, which it will 

 retain during the winter, and in which I hope to shoot 

 them at Kincardine-on-Forth in the beginning of Sep- 

 tember — a month or six weeks hence. 



We measured the footprints of another Swan, and 

 afterwards identified it as Bewick's {i.e., if such measure- 

 ments can be trusted, which in the case of the two 

 Swans, we believe they can). 



July 30. 



On Friday morning, the 80th of July, the steamer took 

 us off, and we left without regret the scene of our past 

 week's successes and little troubles. AVe saw young 

 Fieldfares amongst the scrub at the edge of the cliffs. 



The sea was smooth as glass, and about eight o'clock 

 we reached Stanavoialachta, having left Dvoinik about 

 two. 



We landed at Stanavoialachta, and went to the second 

 Peregrine's eyrie, in the expectation of getting a second 

 clutch of eggs. We saw the male sitting close to the site 

 of the nest, and he actually allowed us to walk up behind 

 him to w^ithm ten yards or less. Piottuch and I were 

 a little in advance, and I bowled him over on the beach 

 below as he flew off. We saw nothing of the female, 

 which had most likely prepared the other nest and 

 was then sitting on eggs. 



We did not go to see, but got back to the steamer, 



