34 



JOURNAL OF MAINE ORNITHOLOGICAL SOCIETY 



Some Birds of Sunshine and Vicinity. 



OKA W. KNIGHT. 



Having spent parts of several seasons 

 during the past eight years iu observing 

 the birds of East Penobscot Bay, and as 

 many of the species which were former!}^ 

 common here are now nearly extinct 

 during the breeding season, the author 

 has deemed it wise to publish notes on 

 some birds of this vicinity with as full 

 as possible accounts of their breeding or 

 having bred here. 



Sunshine is a little fishing hamlet sit- 

 uated on Stinson's Neck, on the eastern 

 side of Deer Isle. 



This paper includes the consideration 

 of such species of seabirds as have been 

 found breeding on Little Duck, Green, 

 Ship, Barge, Trumpet. Sister, John's, 

 Heron, Lower Mark, Big Spoon, Little 

 Spoon and Seal Islands, and on Mason's. 

 Black, Spirit. Saddleback, Way, Hali- 

 but, Black Horse and White Horse 

 Ledges. 



Although there are many other islands 

 scattered between these, many of which 

 are inhabited by the smaller land birds, 

 those enumerated include all which are 

 the breeding places of seabirds between 

 Little Duck on the east and Seal Island 

 to the westward of this irregular broken 

 chain. Many other islands which are 

 seemingly equally good sites for rooker- 

 ies are not frequented by any of the 

 seabirds, and have not been of recent 

 3'ears. 



Perhaps it is well that we should have 

 a clear understanding of the location, 

 approxin)ate size and chief character- 

 istics of the islands named above. 

 About eighteen miles to the southeast by 



east from Sunshine and well out to sea 

 is Little Duck Island. It is little less 

 than half a mile across, and is covered 

 with a growth of living and dead spruces 

 and firs, numerous bushes and fallen 

 logs, and a very few birches, while 

 along the shore heaps of boulders of 

 various sizes form a sea-wall extending 

 around the island, except in a few 

 places where the shores rise abruptly as 

 an unbroken mass of rock. 



For some years this was the home of 

 a crazy negro hermit who eked out a 

 scanty existence on the eggs and young 

 of seabirds in summer, and mussels and 

 other marine animals in winter. The 

 island is at present uninhabited. 



Some three and one-half miles north 

 of due west from Little Duck are the 

 two Green Islands. They are both 

 grassy ledges and together cover four 

 or five acres, being separated from each 

 other by a narrow channel. Like all 

 the other islands of this region (which 

 have any soil at all) thej^ are covered 

 with a very dark, friable, loamy soil. 



Some two miles further westward are 

 the two Sister Islands, both of which 

 are covered Avith a growth of spruces, 

 firs, a few birches and bushes of differ- 

 ent kinds. The largest is about a quar- 

 ter, and the smallest about an eighth of 

 a mile long. 



About two and one-half miles to the 

 southwest of the Sisters is John's 

 Island. This is very similar to the 

 Sisters in its botanical features and is 

 slightly larger than the largest of these. 

 Its rocky shores rise abruptly from the 

 waters. 



Seven miles north of the Sisters and 

 about the same distance eastward from 

 Sunshine are four small grassy islands, 

 situated well in shore from the open sea 



