126 BIRDS OF GUERNSEY. 



from them, till my friend, actually thinking one of 

 the birds to be badly wounded, set his dog at it; 

 after this all chance was over : this was in a small 

 sandy bay, called Port Soif, near the Grand Kocques 

 Barracks. I mention this as I am certain these birds 

 had eggs or young somewhere close to us, and this 

 was the farthest point towards Vazon Bay from the 

 Vale I found them breeding. The sandy shores of 

 Grand Havre and L'Ancresse Bay seemed to be their 

 head breeding-quarters in Guernsey. Though I 

 only found one set of eggs in Grand Havre, I am 

 sure there were three or four pairs of birds breeding 

 there ; the two eggs I found were lying with their 

 thick ends just touching each other and half buried 

 in sand ; there was no nest whatever, not even the 

 sand hollowed out ; they were in quite a bare place, 

 just, and only just, above the high-water line of sea- 

 weed. I should not have found these if it had not 

 been for the tracks of the birds immediately round 

 them. In 1'Ancresse Bay I was not equally fortunate, 

 but there were quite as many pairs of birds breeding 

 there. In Herm the shell-beach seems to be their 

 head breeding-quarters, and there Mr. Howard 

 Saunders, Colonel 1'E strange and myself found 

 several sets of eggs, generally three in number, but 

 in one or two instances four : these were probably 

 hard-sat ; in one instance, with four eggs, the eggs 

 were nearly upright in the sand, the small end 

 being buried, and the thick end just showing above 



