Vol. XVIII 



1901 



1 DuTCHER, Protection of Gulls and Terns. 83 



prevent shooting, and three times, egging. He also reports that 

 ■"the Protective Association is a grand success and I can already 

 see as the result of four months protection that the birds are 

 fifty per cent more numerous this fall than last year." 



New Jersey. 



Our member Mr. W. L. Baily had charge of the work done in 

 New Jersey. During the season he made a number of trips, first 

 to ascertain where colonies of birds bred, later to oversee the work 

 of the two wardens appointed, and, finally, to observe the results 

 of the season's work. He furnished a detailed report from which 

 has been extracted the following interesting facts : The breeding 

 grounds were in Cape May County, from Cape May to Ocean 

 City, a coast line of about thirty-five miles. The species primarily 

 protected were Laughing Gulls {Larus atriciUa) and Common 

 Terns {Sterna hirundo), although the other breeding birds, such as 

 Osprey {Pandion haliaetiis carolinensis), Clapper Rails {R alius 

 crepitans), etc., were included. 



On Blue Fish Meadows, lower end of Seven Mile Beach, he 

 found about two hundred and fifty pairs of Laughing Gulls, and on 

 Poor House Flats, a mile further north, about thirty pairs. June 30, 

 he visited the smaller colony and found about twenty young on the 

 wing and most of the nests with from two to three eggs each nearly 

 ready to hatch. On Blue Fish Meadows three colonies, about one 

 hundred yards apart, were found. As they were approached, 

 about five hundred old birds mounted into the air together with 

 about one hundred young birds. The males seemed to be sitting 

 together on the extensive tracts of ' crash ' and arose first, followed 

 by the females which were flushed from the nests, one at a time, 

 after the males sounded the alarm. The nests, about two hundred 

 in number, were all undisturbed, the eggs in many cases being 

 just hatching. Among the gulls' nests were scattered many nests 

 of Clapper Rails, probably for the protection given them from 

 Crows. At 8 P. M., just at dusk, the males all flew out to sea in a 

 straight line, high up in the air. The warden, Capt. Charles 

 Wright, said that this was a regular habit, and that the birds did 



