Notes on loaders seen in the Isles of Scilly.



131



moner waders on the sea-shore, and the delightful whimbrels appear

in April and May, going by the name of May birds; its shrill

whistle being so easily distinguished from any other bird. Few

sounds are more charming than the chorus of birds on a still spring

night and sometimes the whole shore seems to waken suddenly.

Curlews, whimbrels, oystercatchers, redshanks, ring plovers and

turnstones give a concert of their own.


Grey plover, phalaropes, knots, stints, are also among the

visitors. One day in August, some years ago, I was much excited

by seeing a pair of birds quite unknown to me. I observed them

through glasses and took particular notice of their long hills, much

longer than the ordinary waders, and the rich brown colour of their

plumage; they were feeding busily among the rocks and seaweed on

the shores of the island of Samson at low tide. They proved to be

a pair of brown snipe which had found their way from North

America and Hudson’s Bay right across the Atlantic. A year or

two later we had another visitor from those parts. One Sunday

morning, feeding by the fresh water pool, was seen from the terrace

in front of our house, a strange wading bird with an unknown voice.

We had always hoped one day to see a yellow shank, but this bird

proved to be a still rarer variety, the greater yellow shank ( Totanas

melanoleucus) or “ tell tale” from Hudson’s Bay, the only specimen

ever recorded in Europe. Their nickname comes from their loud cry

that warns the seals that danger is near when the sealers are hunt¬

ing their prey on those distant shores.


The following is a list of waders, of which specimens have

been obtained in these islands, several being American species:—



Turnstone


Sanderling


Oystercatcher


Curlew


Whimbrel


Esquimeaux Curlew

American Solitary Sandpiper

Greater Yellow Shank ...

Spotted Redshank

Redshank



Strepsilas interpres.


Calidris arenaria.


Hcematopus ostralegus.

Numenius arquatus.


,, phceopus.


,, borealis.


Totanus solitarius chloropygius.

,, melanoleucus.


,, fuscus.


., calidris.



