86 INVERERNE. 



eggs. The latter birds seem to commence several nests before 

 they determine on laying their eggs in anyone, as I frequently see 

 three or four nests begun all near each other, and the peewits are 

 far too quarrelsome to allow of these being nests of different birds 

 built so near to each other. By the time that their four eggs are 

 laid, they generally collect a considerable quantity of straw roots 

 or sticks in their nests, appearing to increase it with every egg 

 that they lay. Some grey geese were seen to-day. We caught 

 a beautiful brent goose in a trap on a grassy island, which is 

 generally covered by the sea at high water. 



April 7th. Aurora borealis very bright in the evening. 

 R[ennie] tells me that he has frequently fancied that he has 

 heard the aurora. He expressed the noise as like the rustling 

 of dry leaves in gusts of wind. From the opportunities had by 

 a man of his pursuits (i.e., watching motionless and noiselessly 

 during the night for otters, etc.), 1 have no doubt but that he is 

 quite correct, more particularly as I did not lead to the observa- 

 tion by any question or remark of my own. 



April 8th. It blew a hurricane to-day from the W.N.W. 

 with cold showers. We anticipated this kind of weather from 

 the brightness of the aurora last night. Large flocks of brent 

 geese driven into the bay. The birds scarcely able to move 

 from the ground in exposed places. I saw a sea-gull caught by 

 the wind in the air and turned over five or six times entirely 

 before it could recover its balance and get its head to wind- 

 ward. 



April 9th. Walked eastwards to look for geese. Saw none. 

 The rooks' eggs seem to have all been blown out of the nests 

 by the high wind of yesterday. There is a very deep covering 

 of snow on all the hills, much increased since yesterday. (Wind 

 (KW. 



April 12th. I caught some fine sea trout in good condition 

 in the river, though the water was high and the wind in the 

 east. Some flocks of wigeon still remain. We picked up a few 

 plovers' eggs. They lay principally in the fallow fields, or in the 

 fields where the oats have been lately sown and harrowed in. 



