I C 2 DuTCHEK, Report of Committee on Bird Protection. T .^ 



fying, the colony containing not far from a thousand adult gulls 

 against four hundred in your first report. {Cf. Auk, XVIII, p. 



99-) 



" The increase at Little Spoon Island is less decided, probably 



owing to the fact that this is an outside island and suffered less 



(than Heron Island) before protection became so well established. 



"The few Eider Ducks here are the remnant of a once goodly 

 number breeding in this section. I think they are still robbed of 

 their eggs. Every effort must be made to save this noble duck as 

 a summer resident and breeder, not only for Maine but the 

 United States. If it could be possible to give the breeding colony 

 absolute protection for a few years we could reasonably expect a 

 good result, as has been shown by the gulls and terns. Though 

 this bird, within the memory of the present generation of middle- 

 aged men, bred from the western side of Penobscot Bay easterly 

 to the present location of the colony, and at several other places 

 east to Machias Bay, it is now reduced to the small number 

 breeding in Jericho Bay, and a colony on Old Man Island. 



" With the exception of the extinction of the Masons Ledge and 

 Green Island colonies, the Sea Pigeons seem to sufifer no moles- 

 tation. In this bay their nests are nearly inaccessible. 



"Finishing the inspection of this bay July 13, we went to 

 Penobscot Bay to investigate the condition of the colonies under 

 the care of Capt. H. T. Ball of Eagle Island. 



" Sheep Island was occupied by a colony of Fish Hawks which 

 had ten nests which I saw. 



Colonies of Terns were found on Sloop Island and Channel 

 Rock on July 17. On Sloop Island fifty nests with eggs or young 

 were found ; probably 75 to loo pairs breed here. On Channel 

 Rock, a small pinnacle-like ledge with grassy top, about fifty terns 

 were breeding. I was convinced that some eggs had been taken 

 from these islands. Notwithstanding these facts many small 

 young were seen, and the adults were moderately tame. 



" At Bradburys Island it was impossible to get ashore without 

 finding one of the warning notices well placed. That the colony 

 of Herons had not been disturbed seemed certain. The luxuriant 

 undergrowth had not been trampled around the rookery, and we 

 found the Great Blue Herons pleasingly tame. A few young were 



