1917'] in the North Sea and North Atlantic Ocean. 37 



20 October. Cold ; fresh breeze S.S.W.-S. 62° 0' N., 



r 34' W. 



At daybreak uo 1)irds whatever were in si-jlit. A few 

 Fulmars and Kittiwakes appeared later, and shortly after 

 midday many more Fulmars, until we had sixty in our wake. 

 Towards evening most of them had disappeared again. One 

 or two Guillemots on the wing, and one Richardson's Skua 

 in the distanee, were also observed. 



About 4 P.M. a Great Skua was following the ship. He 

 clias;'d the Gulls continually, doubling and twisting with 

 much address in their pursuit, but he did not molest the 

 Fulmars, although the latter exceeded the Gulls in number. 

 From time to time he would alight upon the water to seize 

 a piece of refuse, and, rising again, would overtake the ship 

 with a few beats of his powerful wings. 



21 October. Bright ; wind increased in the afternoon 



S. by E.-S. W.-S.E. by S. 61° 50' N., 2° 02' W. 

 We had the usual following of Fulmars and Kittiwakes, 

 which increased about midday and decreased again before 

 darkness. Two Manx Shearwaters {Puffinus puffinus) fol- 

 lowed us for some time in the afternoon. The peculiar 

 rolling flight of these birds made them easily distinguishable 

 amongst the others. Frequently they made excursions of 

 five or six hundred yards outwards from our wake, but, 

 although I watched them for nearly an hour, 1 did not 

 observe them seize one morsel of food. One Guillemot 

 was seen. 



22 October. Gale from N.W. (near Shetlands). 



Shortly after daylight we were in the lee of the land, 

 which was some seven miles distant. Three or four Kitti- 

 wakes were the only followers, and later a single immature 

 Gannet was noticed. 



As we entered harbour I saw some sixty Shag {Phalacro- 

 corax graculus) taking shelter from the gale in a small 

 field. 



