BIRD NOTES 61 



"swills" of prime herrings would be spilled over- 

 board too, in rough weather. This circumstance 

 offered a great attraction for the inshoring of many 

 species of fish and of sea-birds. Amongst them 

 came the Skuas and the Storm-Petrels. It was 

 usual for the " carriers " to trail soft roes (milts) of 

 herrings behind by means of string. At these the 

 hungry little birds would swoop, to be knocked 

 down by long osier wands, carried for the purpose. 

 It was probably a love of " sport " rather than the 

 paltry twopence offered per bird by the local game 

 dealers which induced the men to thus encompass 

 the destruction of the unfortunate birds. 



To-day the herrings are landed a mile up-river at 

 the Fish wharf; the offal is put ashore too, as a 

 profitable " extra " ; and although gulls in some 

 numbers muster up yearly for a share of the spoil, 

 the Storm-Petrel is only a casual visitor, unless 

 driven hither by exceptionally bad weather, when, 

 as mentioned by Booth in his Rough Notes, 

 during the continuance of a most severe easterly 

 gale in November 1872, hundreds were seen off the 

 harbour mouth. The gale began on the llth. On 

 the 18th the sea had become as smooth as glass, and 

 Mr. Booth steamed in a tug through many hundreds 



