200 THE BOOK OF MIGRATORY BIRDS 



Could others do so, I think it might be found that the first 

 brood turned north, while the second brood turned south 

 with other migrants at the appointed time. If the double 

 brood be mythical, those unfledged birds which are often 

 encountered in early autumn point to my sinister con- 

 clusion that the original clutch of eggs was either stolen 

 or destroyed by vermin. 



Mention is made of the scarcity of woodcock. A short 

 time ago many of these birds rested in their aerial flight 

 on the Fames, and the two men, the sole occupants of 

 those islands, had a lively time with the gun so much so 

 that they ran short of ammunition, one securing sixteen 

 brace and the other seventeen. Since that shoot some 

 visiting gentlemen have shot several of these birds from 

 the cobles. The Fame Islands offer varied and sensa- 

 tional sport, for ofttimes when birds are scarce one may 

 get a shot at a basking seal. Four woodcock and a couple 

 of seals fell to the lot of a gun from a small boat recently. 

 The seals were of baby growth, scaling from four to seven 

 stone. It is well known to Scotch naturalists that this 

 animal attains a weight of seventy stone. It should be 

 remembered that shooting parties can hire cobles from 

 either Seahouses or Holy Island for these excursions. 



It is estimated that lighthouses on the Atlantic coast 

 of the United States cause the destruction of about 100,000 

 birds annually. The birds, being attracted by the light, 

 and flying against the glass, are dashed to pieces. The 

 migratory birds are the chief sufferers, the havoc being 

 great in April along the northern coasts, from Cape May 

 to Maine, and in October on the Florida shores. At one 

 lighthouse in Florida the lantern itself was broken by the 

 repeated shocks from ducks, and an iron network had to be 

 erected round the light. Even then the ducks struck the 

 netting with such force as to break through it and smash 

 the heavy outer plate-glass of the lantern. From twenty 

 tOf fifty dead birds were often found in the morning. 



A writer at Holy Island, who represents the Wild Fowl- 

 ing Association, mentions the fact, in corroboration of the 



