106 BIRDS OF LOCH AND MOUNTAIN 



the invader, now joined by his mate, seemed still 

 in no mood to give in. A few days after, the island 

 appeared deserted, and so far as I could make out, 

 the rightful owners had been driven off, but the 

 other pair had not taken possession. Truly, bird- 

 land is a strange world, little understood by us 

 even in these davs of civilisation. 



THE COMMON TERN 



OF all our summer visitors the Terns are among the 

 last to trust themselves to our fickle climate and 

 are rarely seen before spring has really set in. 

 Pretty birds, they add an immense charm to the 

 sand dunes and river banks where they have their 

 summer home. 



Often have I noted the arrival of the Common 

 Terns on a grassy islet on a lone mountain loch, 

 and about May 7th is the usual date for the first 

 Tern to make its appearance. For a day or so 

 one or two birds only are to be seen, but by the 

 middle of the month the island is occupied by a 

 dozen pairs or so, which almost immediately com- 

 mence nesting operations. 



On this island the birds can hatch off their 

 eggs and rear their young in safety ; but the 

 same cannot be said of the majority of their 

 nesting haunts. Many of these one can scarcely 

 visit without noticing footmarks all over the sand. 

 Following the tracks, one sees that they go from 

 nest to nest, or what were nests a very short while 

 ago, but are now mere depressions scratched in the 

 sand. Notwithstanding this incessant robbing of 

 their eggs, the birds pluckily lay again and again, 



