﻿170 
  ALASKA 
  FISHERIES 
  AND 
  FUE 
  INDUSTRIES, 
  1913. 
  

  

  before 
  the 
  murres. 
  Bird 
  life 
  in 
  general 
  was 
  reported 
  to 
  be 
  as 
  plentiful 
  

   as 
  heretofore. 
  

  

  An 
  opportunity 
  to 
  visit 
  the 
  island 
  again 
  did 
  not 
  occur 
  until 
  June 
  30, 
  

   when 
  Mr. 
  Kleinschmidt, 
  charterer 
  of 
  the 
  schooner 
  P. 
  J. 
  Abler 
  lying 
  off 
  

   St. 
  Paul 
  island, 
  made 
  the 
  trip 
  to 
  Walrus 
  Island 
  in 
  the 
  schooner 
  and 
  

   kindly 
  took 
  Agent 
  Lembkey 
  along, 
  together 
  with 
  five 
  natives 
  to 
  

   gather 
  some 
  more 
  eggs, 
  if 
  the 
  condition 
  of 
  the 
  latter 
  would 
  justify 
  

   gathering 
  for 
  food. 
  Several 
  hours 
  were 
  spent 
  there, 
  and 
  opportunity 
  

   was 
  afforded 
  for 
  a 
  somewhat 
  careful 
  observation 
  of 
  conditions. 
  

  

  The 
  area 
  denuded 
  of 
  murre 
  eggs 
  by 
  the 
  native 
  party 
  on 
  June 
  12 
  

   was 
  found 
  completely 
  covered 
  again 
  with 
  eggs, 
  which 
  however, 
  were 
  

   already 
  incubated 
  to 
  a 
  point 
  rendering 
  nearly 
  all 
  of 
  them 
  undesirable 
  

   for 
  food. 
  Only 
  about 
  a 
  bushel 
  of 
  eggs 
  was 
  taken 
  by 
  the 
  natives, 
  each 
  

   egg 
  having 
  been 
  tested 
  in 
  water 
  and 
  found 
  to 
  sink. 
  

  

  At 
  this 
  date 
  no 
  murre 
  chicks 
  had 
  been 
  hatched. 
  Of 
  the 
  glaucous 
  

   winged 
  gulls, 
  only 
  three 
  chicks 
  were 
  found, 
  two 
  perhaps 
  a 
  week 
  old 
  

   and 
  one 
  just 
  out 
  of 
  the 
  shell. 
  The 
  young 
  cormorants, 
  very 
  few 
  in 
  

   number, 
  had 
  grown 
  to 
  over 
  half 
  the 
  size 
  of 
  the 
  parents, 
  but 
  were 
  

   still 
  in 
  down 
  and 
  had 
  scarcely 
  any 
  feathers. 
  No 
  puffin 
  young 
  were 
  

   found, 
  but 
  many 
  puffins 
  were 
  seen 
  hatching 
  in 
  their 
  burrows 
  and 
  

   several 
  of 
  their 
  eggs 
  when 
  broken 
  were 
  found 
  to 
  be 
  about 
  one-third 
  

   incubated. 
  

  

  No 
  diminution 
  in 
  the 
  numbers 
  of 
  birds 
  frequenting 
  Walrus 
  Island 
  

   seems 
  to 
  have 
  occurred. 
  As 
  the 
  boat 
  containing 
  the 
  visitors 
  ap- 
  

   proached 
  the 
  landing, 
  all 
  cliff 
  edges 
  were 
  seen 
  to 
  be 
  alive 
  with 
  murres, 
  

   standing 
  so 
  close 
  together 
  as 
  almost 
  to 
  be 
  touching 
  each 
  other. 
  

   They 
  paid 
  but 
  little 
  attention 
  to 
  the 
  visitors 
  even 
  after 
  the 
  latter 
  

   landed, 
  and 
  retreated 
  only 
  a 
  few 
  yards 
  from 
  the 
  person 
  coming 
  

   toward 
  them. 
  Even 
  within 
  this, 
  they 
  constantly 
  returned, 
  each 
  to 
  

   straddle 
  its 
  particular 
  egg 
  lying 
  precariously 
  on 
  the 
  flat 
  rocks 
  with- 
  

   out 
  sign 
  of 
  nest, 
  and 
  sometimes 
  rolling 
  its 
  own 
  or 
  other 
  eggs 
  about 
  

   in 
  a 
  way 
  that 
  demonstrated 
  the 
  unusual 
  thickness 
  of 
  the 
  shell. 
  With 
  

   aU 
  this 
  rough 
  treatment 
  and 
  confusion 
  very 
  few 
  eggs 
  were 
  broken. 
  

   The 
  murre 
  eggs 
  covered 
  thickly 
  all 
  the 
  flat 
  space 
  usually 
  occupied 
  

   by 
  them 
  and 
  few 
  if 
  any 
  more 
  could 
  find 
  hatching 
  space. 
  

  

  The 
  glaucous-winged 
  gulls 
  arose 
  in 
  clouds 
  as 
  the 
  party 
  moved 
  about 
  

   the 
  island, 
  and 
  were 
  continually 
  rising 
  and 
  alighting 
  again, 
  as 
  were 
  

   the 
  murres. 
  A 
  few 
  kittiwakes 
  were 
  seen 
  nesting 
  on 
  the 
  abrupt 
  faces 
  

   of 
  the 
  cliffs 
  in 
  the 
  httle 
  shelving 
  recesses 
  which 
  they 
  frequent. 
  With 
  

   the 
  exception 
  of 
  the 
  small 
  bowlder 
  beach 
  on 
  the 
  north 
  side 
  no 
  areas 
  

   were 
  found 
  that 
  could 
  have 
  been 
  used 
  for 
  breeding 
  purposes, 
  and 
  

   here 
  it 
  is 
  possible 
  that 
  in 
  a 
  storm 
  the 
  space 
  might 
  come 
  within 
  the 
  

   reach 
  of 
  dashing 
  spray 
  and 
  therefore 
  be 
  undesirable. 
  It 
  is 
  fair 
  from 
  

   this 
  to 
  conclude 
  that 
  bird 
  life 
  on 
  this 
  island 
  is 
  probably 
  at 
  its 
  greatest 
  

   expansion. 
  It 
  certainly 
  is 
  as 
  profuse 
  to 
  the 
  eye 
  as 
  when 
  it 
  was 
  

  

  