4 THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. [Vol. XXIV. 



A TRIP TO MUD ISLAND, PORT PHILLIP. 



By a. H. Mattingley. 



(Read he/ore the Field Naturalists^ Club of Victoria, llth March, 1907.) 



Right in the apex of the triangle where the two marine water- 

 ways, the South and West Channels, bifurcate, near the entrance to 

 Port Phillip Bay, and within its sheltered waters, lies a speck of 

 land known as Mud Island. It is the nesting place of the White- 

 faced Storm-Petrel, Pelagodroma marina, and a few other species, 

 and is resorted to as a feeding ground by innumerable sea-birds, 

 members of the wading and diving orders of birds. 



To study the habits of the White-faced Storm-Petrel, known to 

 ocean voyagers as " Mother Carey's Chickens," and also to photo- 

 graph these tender little ocean sprites in the natural surroundings 

 of their petrelry, I boarded the excursion steamer Ozone at Port 

 Melbourne on Saturday afternoon, i6th February last, and 

 proceeded down Port Phillip Bay to Queenscliff, a distance of 

 some 35 miles. The journey was accomplished in two hours' 

 time, despite a violent gale that was blowing. It is an ill wind 

 that blows no one any good, and in this respect I could not 

 complain, because I afterwards ascertained it is during a gale 

 that one can study to advantage the aviiie inhabitants of Mud 

 Island. 



At Queenscliff I had arranged for a fishing craft to be in readi- 

 ness to take me across the 5 miles of water which intervene 

 between that place and the island, but owing to the stormy 

 weather conditions the boatmen were dubious of their 6-ton boat 

 being able to weather the gale. As I had only myself to study — 

 being unaccompanied by any other naturalist — I pressed them to 

 make an effort to land me on the island. After some urging they 

 decided to yield to my solicitations, and off we started. The boat 

 dancing merrily over the waves, borne rapidly along by a strong 

 south-westerly gale, reached the island in about half an hour's 

 time. Great care had to be exercised by the boatmen to prevent 

 going ashore on the sand-banks that surround the island. They 

 informed me that were they to run the heavily ballasted craft on 

 to one of these banks, in the gale that was then blowing, she 

 would go to pieces in five minutes. After careful steering through 

 a narrow channel between the sand-banks calmer water was 

 reached, and, having transferred myself and luggage, consisting of 

 a bottle of water (there being no fresh water on the island), some 

 eatables, and a blanket, not forgetting a camera, to a dinghy, we 

 pulled close in to a mud-bank and waded ashore, sinking, in 

 places, knee deep in mud. On reaching the sandy beach the 

 south-westerly gale veered around to a southerly " buster," so the 

 fishermen hurried back to their craft, and, with but a pocket- 

 handkerchief of a sail hoisted, beat back to Queenscliff. There I 



