60 TWO ATLANTIC COAST ISLANDS 



June 16-21, 1908) ; but in November, 1907 (23-25), I went to 

 the island with George E. Lodge, to have a glimpse of its 

 winter bird-life, and an interesting one it was. It stormed 

 heavily and continuously during our stay, but, nevertheless, 

 we saw fifty species of birds (or only nineteen less than the 

 total for my three summer trips), and as a matter of inter- 

 est as well as of record, I append a list of them with an 

 estimate of the number of individuals of each species. 



If the nesting of Black Ducks, Bartramian Sandpipers, 

 Piping Plover, and other rare species, is a tribute to the pro- 

 tective powers of the island during the summer, the presence 

 of fifteen species of wild Ducks in November is a no less 

 impressive evidence of its preserving influences at that sea- 

 son. With no small satisfaction, we saw, in the same pond, 

 and almost at a glance, Hooded Mergansers, Pintails, Red- 

 heads, Canvasbacks, Buffleheads, and Ruddy Ducks ; but as a 

 matter of fact, the most interesting experience of our visit 

 was supplied by the commonest bird on the island the 

 Crow. Crows are abundant on the island throughout the 

 day, foraging in the old corn-fields and along the beaches ; 

 but late in the afternoon, birds from Long Island begin to 

 return to the island, to their roost in "Bostwick's Woods." 

 The rolling plains at the edge of woods where we 

 were hiding was black with Crows, acres of them. Birds 

 were constantly arriving and the black area growing larger 

 and denser. Occasionally birds on the ground quarreled, 

 while others chased one another rapidly ; but on the whole, 

 there was surprisingly little noise or movement. The birds 

 were waiting, and waiting quietly. When it was too dark to 

 distinguish birds on the ground one hundred yards distant, 

 the flight to the roost was begun. There was no noise, no 

 confusion ; the Crows did not rise in a body but gradually, 

 curling like smoke in a long black stream, they entered the 

 woods behind us and disappeared in the gloom. It was an 

 impressive sight, and rendered doubly so by the absolute 

 quiet with which the evolution was performed. 



