.1 Ihti/ on the Fames in Aiifiiisl. ;>,.| 1 



his woik thoroughly well. The journey a,cro:s-; t!ie wuler look 

 alwmt iort\'-live minutes hut it did not seem lialf that lime, a.s 

 there was so nuieh to see and interest. Porpoises in the water, 

 and Ciullo, solitary GannetS, Cormorants and Puffins (lying 

 overhead and aeting aa our advance guard to the islands. Our 

 lirst destinaiion was the Staples. The sight here was amaz- 

 ing. Myriads oi' birds filled tlie aii-, roeks, and sea. 1 had 

 never seen such a thing beioi'e, and Telt all the keen d(;light 

 thai ever} bird-lover must i'eel on his first visit to a breeding 

 colony. We scrambled up the rocks with our cameras, with 

 crowds oi slu'ieking (_;ulls. t'hieliy the J^esser Black-back'ed 

 {Lu/U6 fuscus) variety, whirling all about us. Oui' fir;sct 

 ol>jective was a bank which was covered with Puffins (Fra- 

 tercula arctica) standing outside their nesting burrows. Many 

 more w^ere standing in a long row on the top. Very few of 

 the burrows contained young, as it was late in the season, 

 but we caught sight of a few in their black fluffy nest down. 

 Tlie old Puffins, like gruAC and solemn sentinels, looked very 

 quaint, with their black and white plumage, curiously col- 

 oured, powerful beaks, and rather squat appearance. They 

 seemed quite tame, and did not fear our approach, conse- 

 quent!} it was an easy task to photograph them. We lingered 

 long at this particular spot, but presently realized that time 

 was pressing, and then turned toward the Pinnacles. These 

 are precipitous rocks at the end of the Staples, swarming 

 with Guillemots (JJria troile). Some Gulls were feeding 

 young on jutting ledges on the steep sides. It was impos- 

 sible to get on to the rocks with the birds, as we were 

 separated from them by a precipice, but we took photographs 

 of them from where we found foothold on the opposite side. 

 The top of the Pinnacles was a seething mass of Guillemots, 

 and yet we were told by one of the watchers who reside on 

 the island during the breeding season, that there were "nothing 

 like so many as in June." The marvel to us w^as how suc;h 

 a vast, number of birds obtain food for themselves and their 

 young. Fresli birds were continually arriving and othurs 

 leaving. We could see some of the Guillemots fighting, — per- 

 haps objecting to the squash. Across the precipice came 

 their incessant cries, but as regards noise, nothing came up 

 to the gulls! Several young ivittiwakes were nestling in. 



