Birds by Land and Sea 



It seldom alights, but when it does so, may often 

 be seen standing erect on some solitary snag of rock, 

 its black wings outstretched to the full and motion- 

 less. We shall find that these journeys southward 

 on the Strait are made only in the earlier part of the 

 day, but that at evening the birds make their way 

 northward, so that we may look with some confidence 

 for their breeding haunts in that direction. 



Gulls are not numerous on the Strait at this 

 period, and those which are present are for the most 

 part immature birds without nesting responsibilities. 

 These are lesser black-backed and herring-gulls, and 

 they, too, are observed to make their way northward 

 on the Strait at the close of day, evidently homing 

 to some cliff on the open sea. Of the common gull 

 we see nothing, this bird having its nesting quarters 

 north of the Border. The black-headed gulls, like- 

 wise, are missing, until a few gradually appear during 

 the second week of June, and we notice that these 

 draw off southward on the Strait when day falls. 

 During a previous stay at Beaumaris, lasting from 

 the 4th until the 2ist July, 1902, the black-headed 

 gull was the commonest on the Strait. At the time 

 of our second visit this bird an inland breeder 

 was evidently busy nesting in some of the marshy 

 tracts south of Beaumaris. 



I call to mind that, during my former visit, the 

 common tern also was a constant passenger over 

 Mount Green, coming up from the sea with shining 

 fish in its red bill, crossing the fields and rising to 



