ICQ DuTCHER, Report of Couunittee on Bird Protection. T jan 



water it was found to be nearly or quite fresh. An empty Black 

 Duck's nest was also found here. 



"On the western point a colony of about 200 Common Terns 

 was found. These had been robbed of eggs, as two empty nests 

 to one with eggs were found, and no young were discovered. 



"Mr. Rackliff visited this island last year and found that only 

 a few pairs were there then. On the same day we found at White 

 Ledges, locally called Way or Whale Ledge, an Eider Duck's nest 

 with four eggs, also two empty nests. We saw a small flock 

 feeding, which swam away, but four ducks with one drake 

 remained not far away, and were supposed to be birds making 

 this ledge their home. This small ledge is in two parts, each part 

 containing less than half an acre. The birds all breed on the 

 southern one, which is low ; it is covered with coarse gravel and 

 small pebbles, bound together with a small amount of turf, sup- 

 porting five or six species of sea plants. 



"This is rapidly yielding before the storms of winter, and pos- 

 sibly one or two winters may close the history of this resort. With 

 the influence of protection there is much probability that the birds 

 will adopt one of the near islands or ledges as a breeding place ; 

 without this these ducks will no doubt leave the bay entirely, thus 

 reducing the number, already small, ver)' seriously. Here we 

 found five gulls' nests, in one of which the eggs were just hatching. 



"The 'Three Ledges' just east of Fagg Island, where we 

 camped, and the Green Ledge, a little south of the three, where a 

 small number of terns were breeding last year, showed only two 

 or three empty nests ; it seemed reasonable to suppose the new 

 colony at Southern Mark Island was composed of the birds which 

 were here last year. 



" On Saddle-back Ledge, where one or two pairs of Eider Ducks 

 are said to breed, we sa\v no ducks nor found any nest ; one or 

 two could easily have been overlooked. On the northern part of 

 this island we estimated the terns at 300, and on the southern part 

 at 100 ; some eggs had evidently been taken, but the condition was 

 better than at Southern Mark Island. Quite a number of young 

 terns were found and the adults, though wilder than at Metinic 

 Green Island and Matinicus Rock, were less so than at Southern 

 Mark Island. 



