^°'i9^'^] DuTCHER, Protection of Gulls and Terns. 5 1 



them during the season of 1900, viz., Mr. C. W. Rackett at the 

 north end and Mr. Hiram S. Miller at the south end. Both report 

 that they had very little trouble protecting the birds this year, 

 owing to the fact that the inhabitants and the summer boarders 

 are becoming acquainted with the fact that it is illegal to disturb 

 the birds in any way, and further, because the warning notices are 

 conspicuously placed in all parts of the breeding grounds. A very 

 large number of young birds were matured, a conservative estimate 

 being from 4000 to 5000. 



New Jersey. — Our fellow member, Mr. W. L. Baily, who had 

 charge of the work on the New Jersey coast, made a trip to Stone 

 Harbor and Peck's Beach July 20 "and found almost twice as 

 many Black-headed Gulls {Larus atricilld) as last year. Every 

 nest and egg was washed away by a high tide on June 17 and 18. 

 Afterward the gulls scattered all over the meadows wherever they 

 could find trash and suitable spots and commenced to lay again. 

 The second nests have been undisturbed and the eggs were just 

 hatching July 21 ; no young gulls were found over one day old. 

 The eggs of the tern colony on Little Gull Island, Stone Harbor, 

 were entirely swept away by the high tide referred to above. I 

 saw the terns but could not find any nests." 



R. S. Ludlam was the warden in charge of about four miles of 

 beach and marsh near Stone Harbor. He reports that he pro- 

 tected all kinds of birds that breed in his district ; a colony of 800 

 Black-headed Gulls {Lanis atricilla) , some Terns {Sterna hiriifido), 

 Fish Hawks {PaJidion haliaettcs carolmensis) , Clapper Rails {Ral- 

 bis crepitans) ., and several species of land birds. He estimates 

 that 1000 gulls were raised. He reports that he had the most 

 trouble to keep summer boarders from shooting the birds, as they 

 want sport and will shoot at anything. The hard storm of June 

 15 to 18 destroyed thousands of eggs about to hatch. He says : " I 

 found Clapper Rails along the beach by hundreds where they had 

 been drowned on their nests, together with their young. Many 

 eggs had been destroyed by the tide. The survivors laid again 

 and hatched in July. 



"September 10 I saw hundreds of Black-headed Gulls catching 

 flying ants ; this had never been noticed before. There were 

 millions of the ants about forty feet up in the air, and the gulls 



