THE OOLOQIST. 



IS 



largest end. and one now in my collec- 

 tion has a wreath composed of scrawly 

 lines such as adorn eggs of the Orchard 

 Oriole. The eggs vary greatly in size; 

 three selected specimens measuring as 

 follows: l.OOx.77. 133x100, ].41x.93 

 inches, but the average size is usually 

 1.25X.93 inches. 



Having taken a suilicient number of 

 sets we returned to the boat and got 

 underway; having decided to visit a 

 colony of Double-crested Cormorants 

 on our way back. In a couple of hours 

 we approached Black Horse Ledge, the 

 home of the Cormorants, but before we 

 could get in gunshot about 50 of the 

 above menti(jued birds flew from the 

 ledge. 



Black Horse Ledge is a steep rock 

 rising directly from the ocean to the 

 height of about 100 feet. Although the 

 water was rough we managed to land 

 and haul our boat up onto a shelf 

 out of the way of the breakers. Her- 

 ring Gulls were nesting in great num- 

 bers, but I left these till later on and 

 began to search for Cormorants nests. 

 On a shelf near the top of the ledge I 

 found tivo rutle nests of sticks and sea- 

 weed containing 3 eggs each. One 

 other nest contained a single egi? while 

 other nests were in the process of con- 

 struction. The birds must have been 

 robbed by some other collector and 

 were now laying second sets. 



Mr. Chas. K. Reed informs me that 

 in June '93 and '9?. he took sets of 

 Double crested Cormorant eggs near 

 Isle an Haut, and beyond, a doubt he 

 visited this same colony of birds. 



After taking a few sets of Gull's eggs 

 we hastened to leave the ledge, and 

 came pretty near being swampetl by a 

 huge breaker rolling in on our boat and 

 partly tilling it with water. Neverthe- 

 less we reached our large boat in safety 

 and set sail for Sunshine, arriving there 

 in safety. 



July 3 I returned to Bangor well 

 pleased with my two weeks outing. 



While on Deer Isle I had noticed var- 

 ious species of land birds, but was un- 

 able to spend time to find their nests. 

 The Island is well wooded in various 

 parts, and many rare Warblers doubt- 

 less nest there. Among the rarer land 

 birds known to nest on the island are 

 the Northern Raven, Bald Eagle, Yel- 

 low- Allied Flycatcher, Myrtle Warbler, 

 and other species. I noticed numerous 

 Juncos, Song Sparrows and White- 

 throated Sparrows, and I am very sure 

 I saw a pair of Tree Sparrows, but did 

 not have my shot gun at the time, so 

 was unable to shoot them and settle 

 their identity beyond question. I also 

 am fairly sure I saw a Hudsonian 

 Chickadee as I remember noticing that 

 it did not have the black cap of our 

 common Chickadee. If this is the case 

 they must nest there, but at the time I 

 thought the bird was only a young bird 

 of the common species, and not until 

 lately when I learned that the old and 

 young of the Chickadee have a very 

 similar plumage did I realize that the 

 bird I saw must have been an adult 

 Hudsonian Chickadee. 



At the time I remember thinking the 

 bird looked somewhat odd, but having 

 never met with the Hudsonian species 

 at that time, I did not realize how near 

 1 had come to making a valuable dis- 

 covery. Since October "95 I have taken 

 a specimen of the Hudsonian Chickadee 

 here in Bangor, and would now surely 

 recognize the species when seen again. 



I hope to visit Deer Isle again in the 

 near future, and Jevote more time to a 

 study of the land birds as I anticipate 

 some rare and valuable discoveries in 

 that direction. 



Any one, w^ao intends to do any col- 

 lecting among the islands of Penobscot 

 Bay, should procure the service of Cap- 

 tain Couary as their pilot. He is one of 

 the most skillful of boatmen and the 

 most genial cf companions. 



Oka W. Knight. 



