Vol. X 

 1910 



] yiACGiLhiVR.KY, Along the Gyeai Bayriey Reef. 210 



swam off, and they flew on quite satisfied. One Gull's nest in 

 the grass contained a newly-hatched, young bird and a chipping 

 egg- 

 On one end of the island was an untenanted nest of the Osprey 

 or Fish-Hawk — a substantial structure built up of sticks, bones, 

 sea-weed, bottle-skins, and other odds and ends, to over 2 feet 

 in height. At the other end was an old Pelicans' nesting-place, 

 where there had been 40 or more nests 3 or 4 months previously ; 

 they had evidently been deserted, as there were one or a pair of 

 rotten eggs in nearly every nest, all lim^^ and weather-worn. I 

 heard afterwards that a boat's crew had visited the island in June 

 and taken a lot of eggs from it. There were no other birds breed- 

 ing on the islet. Sterna ancestheta, when hovering over the boat, 

 rather puzzled me, as the under surface was a most beautiful pale 

 green ; however, it was only the colour of the sea reflected on the 

 pure white of the under surface, and T noticed the same effect 

 o)i the Brown Gannet {Sula leticogaster) and other birds, later. 



Leaving the islet, we beat against the wind towards the 

 shore, as the sun prevents us from finding an opening in the 

 reef. We are very glad when we round it, and, later, Barrow Point, 

 to a safe anchorage at dusk off the mainland. At daybreak we 

 stand out until Ninian Head is rounded, and then on with a 

 favouring breeze till we sight Pigeon Island Light-house. Here 

 we note many Pigeons leaving for the mainland. Off Cape Mel- 

 ville we note several Brown Gannets fishing. We pass quite close 

 to the Cape, and several blacks ashore " Make 'um smoke," as 

 Billy puts it, as a signal to us. However, we cross Bathurst Bay, 

 a spacious opening, during which many Noddies, Brown-winged 

 Terns, and Brown Gannets are seen, to the Flinders Group of 

 islands^high, rocky islands, through which there are three deep- 

 water passages, where the scenery is very fine. We take the 

 outer one. The rocky islands rise high on either side of the 

 passage, clothed with trees, palms, and shrubs. In the calm 

 water of the passage a flock of Brown-winged Terns are busily 

 hunting a shoal of little fish. 



Crossing the 40 miles stretch of Princess Charlotte Bay brings 

 us to Claremont Point. One of several Pelicans on a sand-bank 

 reef near here flies up and perches on top of a beacon to get a 

 better view of us, and near by, on another sand-bank, are many 

 Noddies, Brown-winged Terns, and Lesser Crested Terns. Our 

 objective for the night is Aye (I) sand-bank and reef. When we 

 sight it many Pelicans, Reef-Herons, and Terns are either on the 

 sand-bank or adjacent i)arts of the exposed coral. Nearer, we can 

 see that the shore is occupied by over one hundred Reef-Herons, 

 both white and bluish, besides those on the reef. The sand- bank 

 rises about 10 feet above high water mark, and about 150 yards 

 of the top is covered with a dead growth of some tall leguminous 

 plant surrounded by tussocky grass and a perennial shrubby 

 plant with a yellow mallow-like flower. Great numbers of Brown- 

 winged Terns rise round us and keep up their shrill cries of distress 



