38 



THE OSPREY. 



incubation as a seventh egg — admitted, per- 

 chance, to make a "perfect" set! Surelj-, even 

 witli all the population of the island, house- 

 lots were not so high or scarce that the great- 

 est bird of them all must content itself with a 

 poor location! The picture shows this "rock 

 cottage." 



The eggs on this island were now getting 

 hot in the glaring sun, so we left for island 

 No. 2. This island is the 

 largest of the group, com- 

 prising, I should judge, 

 two or three acres, the 

 third and fourth islands 

 being of an acre or two. 

 As we landed, several 

 Golden I'lovers flew fi'om 

 the shore. Two detached 

 themselves from the 

 others and made back 

 straight for (he boat. A 

 shot from my gun tumbled 

 them both into the water. 

 As we were all searching 

 for duck's nests, one of the 

 party came upon another 

 nest of the Canada Goose 

 containing five eggs, in 

 this case considerably in- 

 cubated. No attempt at 

 concealment had been 

 made. It was placed in 

 the ordinary short grass, 

 a few feet from the edge 

 of the bank that ascended 

 from the stony beach. It 

 was not much more than 

 a grass-lined hollow, with 

 quite a profusion of down 



added. It was not nearly as much of a structure 

 as the other. Near by, mostly at the top of the 



Approaching Island No. 3, we first met 

 the Golden Plover and a pair of Red-breasted 

 Snipe on the nearest ])oint of the island, the 

 former watching us from some isolated rock.'-, 

 in the water. It was a delight to me to meet 

 for the first time these and other waders in 

 their beautifid spring garb. The island was 

 given over in the main to a large colony of 

 Common Terns. The birds were there in force. 



NEST OF CANADA GOOSE. 



beach, was another, but smaller, colony of King- 

 billed Gulls — about 55 pairs. 



NEST OF RING-BILLED GULL, 



but had not begun to lay. The only .set of eggs 

 found was another of Gadwall's, six in number, 

 fresh — probably an incom- 

 plete set — situated in a rather 

 .sparse clump of vireeds. 



The day was now far spent, 

 bnt we made a hasty visit to 

 Island No. 4. A pair ( if Can- 

 ada (ieese stood watciiing us 

 on a gravel spit at the fur- 

 ther end, witli outstretched 

 necks, flying off with loud 

 honking as we approached. 

 Near tlie point, m a clump 

 of weeds, we found a nest 

 that looked as though it had 

 hoen lobbed some days be- 

 fore and been rained on. 

 Another nest, which we 

 judged to be that of last 

 year, was found further up 

 on the island. A couple of 

 male White-winged Scoters 

 flew along shore, quite near 

 u.s, and we made a careful 

 search for their ne.sts, but in 

 vain, finding only a set of 

 ten Mallard's, heavily incu- 

 bated, in a clump of weeds 

 at the top of the beach. The 

 female flushed as we walked 

 a 1 o n' g the shore, spatter- 

 ing her eggs with excrement as she started, as 

 usual with ducks surprised on their nests. 



