50 JOURNAL OF MAINE ORNITHOLOCxICAL SOCIETY. 



driven to land by some strong wind or long continued storm. Mere 

 atoms of life, they ride free on the waves and shake the salt drops 

 from their backs when the gale showers them with spray. 



At Matinicus we made arrangements to stay several days and 

 visit the neighboring islands. The same afternoon we went over to 

 No Man's Land to see the great colony of Herring Gulls. The 

 account of this trip will be found at the close of this article, 

 reprinted in part from the account furnished by me to the Portland 

 Advertiser. 



On No Man's Land, while we were in the midst of the Gulls, 

 we saw a remarkable sight for this locality, no less than thirty-seven 

 Double-crested Cormorants, just now on their journey to more south- 

 ern waters, from northern breeding grounds. They sat in a grotesque 

 row on a projecting cliff, and allowed Mr. Norton to creep around 

 the side of a ledge and photograph them, though at some distance. 

 During our stay in the locality we often saw them flying singly or in 

 pairs around the inner harbor. 



Black Guillemots, or Sea Pigeons, had been breeding here in 

 considerable numbers, doubtless on several of the i.slands. We saw 

 them on Two Bush island, Woodenball island and elsewhere. They 

 were the most numerous on Woodenball island, where we saw one 

 morning more than twenty-five adult birds. Their nests were in the 

 crevices of the rocks and doubtless more young birds were concealed 

 there than we saw of the old ones. We observed only one young Sea 

 Pigeon and he was in the harbor within a few feet of the wharf, and 

 right under the bow of the steamer as she was making ready to 

 leave for Rockland. 



We spent one night on Woodenball island, sleeping part of the 

 time in the camp of a fisherman and the rest of the hours after 

 twilight and just after dawn searching for Leach's Petrels, in their 

 nests and watching them come in from sea to feed their young. It 

 was nine o'clock at night and completely dark when the Petrels 

 began to arrive. They flew around our heads like bats, being just 

 distinguishable by starlight as they chattered and whinnied in the 

 vicinity of their homes, tunneled under boulders and under stone 



