nOTES 



SEA-BIRDS AND OIL. 



In Jainuuv 1914 Mr. H. G. Alexander noticed a number of 

 Scoters in Romney Marsh. Kent, with their feathers so 

 clogged with "" oil and tar "' that they were scarcely able to i\y , 

 {British Birds, Vol. VIII., p. 241). In a subsequent letter. 

 .Mr. Alexander wrote to me as follows : 



■■ I understood that the Scoters had tir.st come a.shore on 

 the 9th or 10th January and they were abundant right from 

 Pett to Dungeness. Some were able to fly about over the 

 land. When I got to the shore on January 11th, I found a lot 

 of both species (Common and Velvet-Scoter) walking about — 

 or I might say stumbling about — the sands. Some were able 

 to fly or flap along into the Avater, but I think most might 

 have been caught. I met a num Avho had shot a good many 

 tine adult birds of both species on the ])onds near the county 

 boundary ; all had a good deal of oil in the breast feathers, 

 but none, as far as I could see, in the wings. Some had so 

 little oil in their feathers that it seemed surprising that it 

 should have caused them so much inconvenience. The next 

 day I walked all along the coast to Dungeness. I found an>- 

 number of them in all stages of oihness on the pools between 

 Jury Ga]i and Galloway's. Some were swimming on the 

 pools and dived a great deal whilst I was near ; others stood 

 dejected by the sides of the pools ; possibly these were the 

 furthest gone, but some of them were still capable of flight. 

 None had at that time died of starvation. Two points are 

 worthy of note. First, I noticed that the huge flocks of 

 Scoters opposite Jury Gap were just as huge as usual, and 

 many were Hying about just as usual ; moreover, though about 

 half the oily birds were Velvet, I saw no Velvet in the flocks. 

 So T thought it safe to infer that the oil had affected them 

 much farther out and that there was none on the water near 

 the shore. And to this 1 might add that I have seen Velvet 

 in much larger pro])ortionate numbers flying past Dvmgeness 

 than in the flocks along the coast. In fact. I think they tend 

 to keep further out than the Common Scoter. The othei' 

 point is that I only .saw Scoters in this condition, though there 

 were plenty of Divers and Alcce off the point. On the l.'Uh 

 there were sfill manv on Rve shore, and on the 14th I found 



