PUFFIN ISLAND 9 



grey and snowy white, nest in the most impossible-looking 

 spots ; their weed-built nests seem to be stuck against the 

 rock face. And so they are; a very tiny ledge gives 

 foundation for the structure, for clay and mud are moulded 

 with the wet weed, padded down hard, and the gale fails 

 to dislodge the small but solid nest. As the birds sail 

 gracefully near the cliff, visiting their mates, the cheery 

 " kitti-wa-a-ake, kitti-wa-a-ake," almost a question, is 

 evidence of identity. 



The larger herring-gulls nest in considerable numbers 

 all over the upper part of the island, placing their bulky, 

 untidy nests on the turf, amongst the thick vegetation, 

 and on the ruined walls. The situations selected look 

 more secure than those of the kittiwake, but the visitors 

 find them very much easier to rob. On the eastern slope 

 the lesser black-backed gulls have a colony, and the 

 fiercer, deeper call of the bird is mingled with the shrill, 

 wild " hehoh," the laughing " ha, ha, ha," and the angry 

 " wow-ow-ow " of the paler gulls, though the notes have 

 a similar ring. Sheld-ducks nest in some of the rabbit- 

 burrows; a dozen or two may be seen gathered in rather 

 noisy conclave, but what the discussion is about in the 

 middle of the breeding season is puzzling. 



As a rule the sheld-duck likes a low sandy shore and 

 nests freely in sand-dunes, but here the nests are fully 

 100 feet above water. When the eggs hatch the parents 

 lead the young to the sea, and they must know their way 

 well on Puffin, for there is only one portion of the island 

 down which a downy infant could safely trot. 



The peregrine has often bred on Puffin, but it does not 

 always escape molestation ; on several visits I have found 

 the pair nesting on the Anglesey cliffs within sight, but 

 not on the island itself. Crows occasionally nest, but are 

 not encouraged, and one young bird, barely able to fly, 

 was having a rather feverish time with the angry gulls, 



