THE BIRDS OF BEMPTON CLIFFS. 5 



breed in thousands, while now scarcely hundreds are seen, 

 -and, as the skins were in demand for ornament, the birds 

 ■used to be ruthlessly shot down in the breeding season. 

 The method was to lie in wait for the birds when they came 

 to collect grass for nest materials, to shoot one, and keep 

 throwing it up and imitating the bird's cry, when, as all who 

 have shot Kittiwakes know, the living birds would flock to 

 the body of the dead one. The question, "Is kitts carry- 

 ing ? " was the usual one asked by the shooter who wished 

 to know whether it was worth his while to go out to the 

 -slaughter. So numerous were the birds that E. Hodgson can 

 remember a field upon which the twitch had been raked 

 together on Saturday, being completely cleared of it by the 

 time the carts came to take it away on Monday, all having 

 gone into the nests. Then followed a time of indiscriminate 

 slaughter. Scores of excursionists poured in from the 

 neighbouring towns to aid in the massacre. The birds 

 were shot off the water as they flew to their parental duties 

 on the cliffs, the young being left to starve and die. The 

 human brutes who killed them were rarely at the trouble of 

 picking up the bodies (which, indeed, were of little use to 

 anyone), and, on the strength of this butchery, passed them- 

 selves off as "sportsmen." This went on until there was 

 danger of the disappearance of the birds altogether. But 

 birds are wonderfully tenacious in clinging to their favourite 

 haunts. No persecution could drive away the remnant who 

 came as usual year after year, until the Protection Acts gave 

 them a chance again. 



By the Act of 1880, all wild birds were protected between 

 1 st day of March and 1st day of August. A schedule was 

 appended to the Act specifying certain birds, the penalty for 

 killing which was £1 per bird, and amongst these were our 

 ■cliff birds. Other Acts followed in 1881 and 1894, and m 

 1896 an Act giving power to the Secretary of State, on 

 application by a County Council, to extend the close time 

 in any portion of its area. By an Order dated 10th May, 

 1895, this was done for the East Riding of Yorkshire, and 

 the close time made to extend from the 1st day of March to 

 the 15th day of August in each year. The eggs were not 

 protected, this being unnecessary, as we shall see later. 



On July 5th, 1902, some casual shooting from a Filey 

 boat caused the destruction of some hundreds of eggs and 

 newly hatched birds, the startled parents, when they left the 

 rock, kicking these off the ledges, from which they fell on to 

 the rocks below. 



