THE HOME OF THE SHEARWATER 33 



of the house-sparrow came from untidy nests under the 

 eaves of the farm buildings. Considering that Bardsey 

 had been inhabited for about 1,500 years it is not surpris- 

 ing that there are sparrows in plenty, and yet Bingley 

 was informed that they only began to nest on the island 

 at the end of the eighteenth century. 



The boat landing is a natural narrow fissure between 

 the rocks leading to a fine shingle beach; here boats can 

 lie in most weathers, but it is necessary, for safety, that 

 they should be hauled up high and dry whenever they 

 are not in use. One of our friends told us that he came 

 one stormy morning to look for his boat and found it in 

 a field a hundred yards away. A few boats are beached 

 on the westward side of the isthmus, but they are not 

 always kept there. Near the boat landing Cefn Enlli 

 we saw a pied wagtail tending its young, and on this bit 

 of beach and the surrounding tangle-covered rocks there 

 were frequently curlews, oyster-catchers, and other birds; 

 it was here that we saw a redshank, though, like a black- 

 headed gull which was near it, but a casual visitor. 

 Oyster-catchers nest all round the lower cliffs, on the grass 

 or on the rock, and constantly keep up a noisy cry of 

 alarm when anyone approaches their chosen stretch of cliff. 



A few wheatears haunt the mountain, and on its western 

 slope, overlooking the village, where low-growing sheep- 

 cropped furze covers large areas, a single stonechat was 

 evidently concerned about its hidden family. The 

 natives cut the furze, bracken which also grows on the 

 mountain side thistles, or anything else that comes 

 handy, roll it into bundles, tie it with rope, and carry it 

 on their backs to the farms. Chopped up small in a 

 chaff-cutter and mixed with hay, this rough harvest of 

 the hill makes excellent fodder. Thanks to the mountain 

 the water-supply of Bardsey is abundant and pure; a 

 well just above the monastery never runs dry and provides 



