JOURNAL OF MAINE ORNITHOLOGICAL vSOClETY. Ill 



great scarcity of Sandpipers was most noticeable, very few being 

 seen in those places best snited to their needs. At Moose-a-bec 

 Reach a few hnndred had gathered and at Cone and Crumple islands 

 smaller companies were seen during the several days of observation. 

 At other points only much smaller numbers were seen. The present 

 season, on a much more hasty trip, with a single day of observation, 

 at the points named, thousands were observed. At Cone and Nash 

 islands alone thousands entertained us by their gyrations over the 

 wave-dashed beaches. Large flocks, numbering close to a thou- 

 sand each, were at Egg and Freeman's Rocks, and upwards of a 

 thousand were at Ballast island, just east of the entrance to Moose- 

 a-bec Reach. At various points, farther west, normal numbers were 



seen. 



Arthur H. Norton. 

 Portland, Nov. 15, 1907. 



Thp: Kittiwakk and Purple Sandpiper again in Maine 

 IN Summer. — Mr. Arthur H. Norton contributes to ''The Auk'' 

 for October, 1907, the following note: "In 'The Auk' for July, 

 1907 (Vol. XXIV, p. 337), the capture of a Kittiwake in 1903 on the 

 coast of Maine in summer was recorded. On July 14, 1907, while 

 at Jordan's Rock, a submerged ledge one mile southeast by east of 

 Portland head light, a Kittiwake {Rissa Mdactyla) flew over my boat 

 within easy range. The small size of the bird, white head, and 

 short black legs and feet were distinctly and critically observed as it 

 passed over. It flew toward Trundy's Reef until it disappeared. 

 In the Journal of the Maine Ornithological Society (Vol. VI., 

 p. 16), the capture of a specimen of the Purple Sandpiper {Arqua- 

 tella maritima) at Metinic, Me., on August 11, 1902, was recorded. 

 On August 6, 1907, while on Metinic Green Island, I saw another 

 specimen of this bird. It stood on a large rock (behind which the 

 greater part of my body must have been concealed from it), within 

 three yards of me. I observed it critically, then tried to catch it; it 

 flew readily, but showed the flight feathers to be faded and worn, 

 and nearly ready to be moulted. Its tameness was in part due, I 

 believe, to the drenching rain that was falling." 



Advancement of Science. — I want to suggest that a society 

 be organized for Maine, on a similar plan to the "American Society 

 for the Advancement of Science," to include all branches of natural 

 history, and to be divided into sections and chapters, thus: 



