iQo^ 1 Grinnell and Daggett, Birds of Coronados Islands. 2Q- 



Immediately upon our arrival at South Island we struck out in 

 the skiff, towed over for this purpose, to visit the easternmost of 

 the two Middle Islands which looked particularly favorable. We 

 rowed out of the cove and coasted along the rocky shore, a 

 favorite place for turnstones and oystercatchers, past the detached 

 ledges at the north and where pelicans and cormorants roosted to 

 the water's edge, and finally headed directly across the intervening 

 channel, swerving now and then to avoid masses of kelp. As 

 we neared our objective point several oystercatchers came flying 

 out to meet us, with their loud cries, and in one of these we recog- 

 nized Hcematopus Jrazari, a species neither of us had ever before 

 seen. Making a landing even in calm weather is attended by a 

 feeling of uncertainty, for one has to select a shelf of rock where 

 the water deepens at once, so that the boat will not be thrown 

 down hard against submerged pinnacles by the receding swells. 

 One has to swing the boat in just right on the top of a wave and 

 leap to the exposed rock at the proper moment. We managed to- 

 make a dry landing, and get our boat safely hauled up on a flat 

 rock. Six hours later the tide had fallen, and we experienced 

 much difficulty in getting the skiff back to the water uninjured. 

 But such little experiences, if not too serious, lend continued 

 interest to a short vacation trip like ours. This small island proved 

 of unexpected interest, for here we found an accessible breeding- 

 colony of petrels. The afternoon was entirely occupied in digging 

 out and taking care of these birds, their young and eggs. One 

 of us made the circuit of the island, meeting with oystercatchers^ 

 turnstones, and tatlers on the partly exposed reefs, their feeding 

 grounds. We started back across the channel at dusk. Flying- 

 fish, startled by the oars, darted past us with wonderful velocity,, 

 often passing uncomfortably near. Cormorants and pelicans left 

 the rocks as we glided by, and our entrance to the cove was her- 

 alded by the weird cry of some disturbed gull. 



The next morning, August 7, we made an early start for North 

 Island, this time leaving both Middle Islands well to the left. Cut- 

 ting through the belt of kelp, which completely girdles North 

 Island, we made a landing at about the center of the east side. 

 Here a short inlet leads to an amphitheatre-like slope which rises- 

 steeply to the ridge several hundred feet above. The unusually 



