THE WHITE-WINGED FLEET 



Gull. One of the first nests we noticed had two 

 eggs notably smaller than any of the others. We 

 thought there might be a pair of Bonaparte's Gulls 

 among the Franklin's, but to our eyes the excited, 

 hovering creatures all looked exactly alike. They 

 were plenty near enough for observation, hovering 

 fearlessly only a few yards away from us. 



We spent three more days by and among the 

 colony, and, despite daily showers, I was able to 

 observe and photograph them very satisfactorily. 

 At times I took the boat alone, and quietly floated 

 in the grass, with nests all around me. I believe I 

 could stay there for weeks and enjoy associating 

 with those beautiful birds. They were so tame 

 they would alight on their nests when I was within 

 ten feet of them, and I took various snap-shots with 

 the camera held in my hands. Some of them were 

 incubating, many others standing on empty nests, 

 from which the young had swum off, usually to 

 return as soon as confidence was restored. But, as 

 nearly as I could decide, the young were not at 

 all particular as to just which nest they resorted to. 

 Some mothers would have but one chick, others at 

 times half a dozen. Often the "one ewe lamb" 

 would swim off to another nest, to be just as hos- 

 pitably entertained. In some cases the old bird 

 would fly at the departing youngster and make 

 vigorous efforts to head it back again, usually with- 

 out success. It would seem that the tribe, to a 

 considerable extent, u had all things common." 

 Now and then groups of the adults would gather 

 in a little open pool of water and swim about, but 

 the nests seemed to be the especial places of resort. 



163 



