Voi.XVIII 

 igoi 



I jyvTCnKK, Protection of Gulls and Ter?is. '1^ 



The primary object of the work was to enforce the laws for the 

 protection of the birds that breed upon the marshes and islands 

 along the middle Atlantic coast, and more particularly the Gulls 

 and Terns. The territory it was purposed to cover was that por- 

 tion of Virginia lying north of Cape Charles at the mouth of Ches- 

 apeake Bay, comprising the counties of Northampton and Accom- 

 ack, all of Maryland bordering on Chincoteague Bay, the coast line 

 of New Jersey, the two colonies of Terns in New York, and the 

 coast of Maine. The Massachusetts tern colonies have been very 

 thoroughly protected during the past season, as heretofore, by our 

 member, Mr. George H. Mackay. 



As the territory to be protected was, with the exception of Long 

 Island, N. Y., entirely new to the Committee, its first effort was 

 to locate the places where the colonies of gulls and terns still 

 existed. The Committee not having the time at its disposal, nor 

 caring to spend any portion of the fund for preliminary visits to the 

 several States, was forced to obtain the necessary information en- 

 tirely by correspondence. 



As this report will cover protection work in five States, each 

 with different laws, it is deemed best to treat each one separately. 



Virginia. 



At intervals of a few miles on the Atlantic coast, the General 

 Government has located life-saving establishments. During the 

 summer months, when the breeding birds most need protection, 

 the crews of the stations are off duty, the Captain alone remaining 

 in charge of the house and apparatus. In Virginia the breeding 

 grounds are located near these stations and the Committee was 

 fortunate enough to interest and engage the services of eight of 

 the Captains to act as wardens. That they very effectually pro- 

 tected the birds breeding on the marshes and beaches near them 

 will appear later. 



The bird laws of Virginia consist of a series of special county 

 acts, and as the protection work was entirely confined to the coun- 

 ties of Northampton and Accomack, cognizance was taken of only 

 the local statutes for the said counties, which are as follows : 



" It shall be unlawful for any person to shoot, or in any manner 



