The Nesting of the Storm Petrel 



One had, this night, a sense of the remoteness and solitude 

 of the island. On the horizon the lighthouses of Skerryvore 

 and Dubh Hirteach periodically pierced the gloom with their 

 rays, while nearer at hand was the strong and steady light 

 of Ardnamurchan. 



The next morning, near the rock from which we had seen 

 the petrels take wing the night before, we discovered a pair of 

 these birds at the end of a rabbit burrow in an old wall, but 

 no tg^ had been laid as yet. That evening was cloudless, 

 and the petrels were almost silent, though one individual was 

 purring in some stones near our tent. 



A few days later — on July 8 — I discovered a storm petrel 

 brooding her ^gg in such a position that she could be seen by 

 removing one stone only, and as this could be done without 

 disturbing her, I marked this particular nest for future 

 observations. After a warm and sunny day a strong cold 

 north wind brought with it mist and gloom at sunset, and 

 during the night, from our tent — which, by the way, was only 

 a few yards from where a colony of storm petrels nested — we 

 could hear the petrels flying round restlessly and excitedly. 

 On July 9 we discovered another pair of petrels in what was 

 evidently to be their nesting site, but no ^gg had been laid. 

 During the night of July lo-ii the weather changed, a south- 

 westerly wind bringing with it thick mist and drizzle. About 

 3 a.m. on the nth we were awakened by extreme excitement 

 on the part of the petrels, the birds chortling loudly as they 

 dashed about. Their call was a most extraordinary sound, 

 extremely weird and un-birdlike, and may, perhaps, be 

 likened to a very asthmatic old gentleman endeavouring to 

 clear his throat. This cry was apparently never uttered 

 except when the birds were on the wing, and only on wild and 

 dark nights. 



During the fortnight that we camped beside the nesting 

 ground of the storm petrels we found that the birds left the 

 stony crevices about 11.30 p.m. and returned to them shortly 

 after 3 a.m. — both times B.S.T. — giving them only a very 



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