326 Bird - Lore 



trunks stand, decaying and waiting the fun- of some gale to hurl them to the 

 ground, to molder with innumerable fellows which have gone before them. 



Mosses, ferns and coarse weeds, with an abundance of brambles, nearly 

 complete the vegetation, and so rank in growth are the latter that they have 

 made a most uninviting tangle. One's way must be forced through these, over 

 and under the brush and logs, guided by the mooted 'sense of direction,' if a 

 stranger. 



This tangle afTords an obstacle to the Gulls, which must resort to the shelves 

 of the rocky cliffs, the sloping southwest shore, the adjacent picturesque needle 

 rocks, or the tops of the trees, to nest. Not so the Eiders, which prefer to walk 

 to and from their nests. To them the tangle affords a secure retreat. 



Responding quickly to the conditions extended to them by protection, they 

 have become so fearless of boats that I was taken just outside of the off-lying 

 ledges, hardly a hundred yards from two females which sat on the shores of the 

 island, without standing as we passed. Several others remained between the 

 shore and the ledge, considerably nearer, without flying. It was a sight sufficient 

 to stir the enthusiasm of any one who has known these magnificent creatures 

 as the wildest of wild birds. It was enough to stir the pride of any, but the heart- 

 less, and it is gratifying to state that Captain Small's associates share his pride 

 in the flock of Ducks. 



I saw seven females, and, outside of the ledges, a young male, probably but 

 a vearling. The latter, on being approached, rose and flew a short distance, 

 then dived and skulked. I was unable to find a nest, in a second short visit 

 here. 



On August 25, in the morning, as the Portland and Eastport steamer ran 

 up Grand Menan Channel, three old drakes flew from the Campobello shore, 

 southwest, or toward the west side of Grand Menan. I was told by Captain 

 Fred Berry, now a surfman of the Cross Island Station, that one or two of these 

 Ducks have often been seen about the western end of the Western Shot, this 

 summer. 



None were seen about their former resorts at Green Islands, below Blue Hill 

 nor at Spirit or Saddleback Ledges in Jericho Bay. At Metinic Green Lsland, 

 August 6, a young drake, a yearling, was flushed from the surf line; he flew about 

 a hundred yards and alighted 



Great Blue Heron. — One of these birds was seen flying from Indian River 

 toward the rookery at Great Wass Island. On August 2, the Bradbury Island 

 Colony in Penobscot Bay was visited and found to be in e.xcellent condition. 

 The nests are now large from reoccupation, and all contained young nearly 

 full-grown. A few had left the nest and were in the trees close by. This colony 

 covers a considerable area, but the nests are scattered. It is extremely difficult 

 of exploration, being on a very steep hillside, in spruce timber, considerable 

 of which has died and fallen, lying with its brush on the ground. Wild currants, 

 raspberries and red-berried elder have penetrated the brush and flourish in pro- 



