'June %th, 1893. Drove to Canty Bay Hotel, and found our boat, which 

 we had ordered the day before, all ready for us. We were for some time 

 completely out of sight of land on the way across, as a dense mist lay on the 

 surface of the water. We saw many Gannets diving from a great height 

 for herrings and small whiting, some of them catching fish quite close to the 

 boat. The landing-place was easily negotiated, as it was fairly calm ; from 

 this point one would scarcely suppose that such an interesting scene was on 

 view close at hand, the only birds visible being a few Puffins sitting at their 

 holes in the old buildings. We got up to the top of the rock, B. M. going to 

 the right and myself to the left, each with our respective cameras and attendants. 



' My first view of this great colony of Gannets was from the summit of 

 the cliff beside a deep gorge running into the Rock. For some distance the 

 whole cliff opposite was completely whitewashed with the droppings of the 

 birds, and I could see hundreds of them sitting on their nests, while a 

 continuous stream of birds passed my feet going and coming from the nests. 

 I roughly estimated this branch of the colony at one thousand pairs. The 

 whole air was filled with the rush of wings and the noise of Gannets at 

 their nests ; every available ledge or point of rock had a nest on it, large, 

 evil-smelling collections of bits of turf and seaweed, with a few straws, bits 

 of paper, feathers, or even bits of driftwood, in them. The offensive smell 

 was chiefly due to the numerous decaying fish which lay about, both in the 

 nests and on the ledges beside them. 



' Some of the spots chosen for nests seemed to be very awkward, the birds 

 having to make three or four attempts before being able to land. The 

 Gannet is at all times a most clumsy bird at alighting on its nest, often 

 tumbling about in the most absurd way. On reaching the nests the birds 

 often ejected from their pouches two, sometimes even three, large herrings, 

 generally headless, which no doubt the sitting bird eats, as we only saw two 

 young birds on the Rock. I noticed many of the birds land plump in the 

 nest with one foot on the top of the egg, and sit that way for some time. 

 On being approached they were most pugnacious, opening their bills and 

 emitting the most startling sounds. I photographed this great cliff -face, 

 covered with Gannets ; and far below, hundreds of Kittiwakes and Guillemots 

 were sitting on their nests, some of them even finding vacant ledges among 

 the Gannets. 



' I then walked round the top of the cliffs to a place where a careful 

 climber with a good head can with care descend some way down the face of 

 the cliff right amongst the nests. Here I saw hundreds and thousands of 



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