The Sea Birds' Fortress 



243 



lU'ai". 'riu'\ were guanlinK llu- iiitruncc lo tlu'ii- lionu'^ l)urr()\v> in the soil 

 under the nnks or undvv the ,ii;ra-y turf. If we had du.<< them out we shouhl 

 l)rol)al)l\- ha\-e found a hird in ea( h hurrow crouching' over her siii<^le while 

 egg at the farthest end. She would not olTt'r to \]y aua\, and we could easily 

 stroke her l.aik or imk her u|., I>ul we must look out for her sharj) and 

 powerful lieak, which could inllict (|uile a wound. 



( )n the upper ledges, Ju>t helow the top of the cliff, the Razord)illed Auks 

 were domiciled, where the\- had crawled into every available crevice or under 

 everv overhanging rock to la\ their single eggs on the bare ground. The eggs 

 were not ipiitt' so pointed as the Murres,' and were usually white with s])ots 

 and markings of dark brown and bhuk. 



R.VZOR-IJILLED .\UKS ON THEIR NEST-SITES 



They were very tame and unsuspicious birds; if we sat still for a few mom- 

 ents near their nests they would fly up and alight within a few feet, eying us 

 curiously and grunting their e.xpressions of satisfaction or disapproval. I should 

 have had some fine pictures of them but for an unfortunate accident by which 

 the plates were spoiled. 



One of the features of the trij) was our visit to North Bird Rock, three tall 

 pinnacles of red sandstone rock rising out of the sea, three-quarters of a mile 

 away. A dory was lowered in place of the crate and we rowed over, landing 

 with difficulty on a fiat rock at the base. A cloud of Kittiwake Gulls flew from 

 their nests on the cliffs as we landed. We managed to scale the first cliff by 

 helping each other up from ledge to ledge, passing the cameras up as best we 

 could. As I raised my head over the top I found myself face to face with a Gannet, 

 in fact a whole colony of them, and a more surprised lot of Gannets I never saw. 



