59 



SOME NOTES FROM THE SCILLY ISLES. 



BY 



W. E. GLEGG. 



During a visit to the Scilly Isles in June 1020 I made some 

 observations with regard to the Manx Shearwater {Piiffmus 

 p. puffinus) and one or two other local species, besides many 

 on the commoner ones. On June 8th I heard a Grasshopper- 

 Warbler [LocusteUa n. ncevia) singing in some very thick cover 

 surrounding a small pond in the centre of St. Mary's, and 

 listened to its intermittent reeling for over an hour. On the 

 same day I put a pair of Turtle-Doves {Streptopelia t. tiirtur) 

 out of some bushes outside Hugh Town, St. Mary's, and a 

 few days later heard the note from the same cover where the 

 Grasshopper -Warbler had been seen. Single Gannets {Sula 

 bassana) were seen off the coast in the neighbourhood of 

 St. Mary's on June loth, nth and.i6th. 



The night of June 14th/ 15th was spent on Annet with the 

 object of watching the nocturnal movements of the Shear- 

 waters, and as my observations differ somewhat from, and 

 may be considered supplementary to, thoee of Dr. Norman H. 

 Joy (Vol. VI., p. 118) and those of Mr. C. J. King as published 

 in Country Life (February 2nd, 1907), I will give them in 

 detail. 



Judging by the remains of those which had fallen victims 

 to the Gulls, the Shearwaters nest all over the island, excepting 

 perhaps on the narrow neck. I was advised, however, that the 

 main part of the colony was situated on the south-eastern 

 portion of the islet, so I took up my position there. At 

 11.30 p.m. I had experienced nothing, and I feared my lonely 

 vigil was to be in vain. However, from this time until 11.45 

 I saw occasional dark forms fiying past me ; their numbers 

 gradually increased, and by midnight the sport was at its 

 height, the air being full of flying birds. On several occasions 

 they flew straight into my face, striking me heavily, and one 

 bird fell to the ground stunned by the impact. Realizing 

 that I was exposed to some danger, I decided to lie down, 

 and this probably increased the interest of my experiences. 

 The curious crowing note of the birds formed an incessant 

 din, and there seemed to be much quarrelling. While two 

 were indulging in a serious scrap, I put out my hand and 

 caught one of the combatants. Birds were all around and 

 quite close to me. Some were very bold, and actually came 

 on to my shoulder. I played with some of them, and they 



