1922] STODDARD, THE GASPE CORMORANT COLONIES 37 



ony, which our guide and boatman, "Willie" Duval, had located a few 

 years previously. Although Perce Rock, which is shown in figure 23, 

 was nearby, and Double-crested Cormorants to the number of a thou- 

 sand or more nest on the fiat surface of its inaccessible top, photograph- 

 ing them was out of the question, with the time and equipment at our 

 disposal. 



Consequently, the afternoon of July 19th found our small party, 

 consisting of Messrs. Richardson, Duval, George O'Bear and the writer, 

 on the way in Duval's twenty-five foot power boat, with a formidable 

 array of cameras, ropes and other paraphernalia. 



Gannets passed continually, usually in parties of from three to six, 

 to or from their nesting ledges on Bonaventure, soon far astern. Their 

 spectacular dives were a source of constant delight to us, particularly 

 after reaching the calmer waters of the bay, evidently a favorite fish- 

 ing ground of theirs. 



Winging their way here and there in an aimless manner, a hundred 

 or more feet above the water, they would suddenly hesitate a second, 

 then dart downward as swiftly and as straight as an arrow, perfecting 

 their aim as they went with a slight turning and twisting of their partly 

 closed wings. Hitting the water with a resounding whack, they would 

 completely disappear from view, arising a moment later to manipulate 

 their catch if successful, and they were generally successful. 



Our companions informed us that, early in the season, from their 

 homes on the Island, occasionally fiocks of Gannets numbering hun- 

 dreds could be seen pouring down onto a school of Herring that they 

 had discovered, the spray fiying high in air, and the impact of their 

 heavy bodies being plainly heard a mile away. Shades of Izaak Walton, 

 what a spectacle to record with the motion camera ! 



Small parties of Cormorants, following one another in single file, 

 were also passing. Some were heavily laden with fish for their im- 

 patient young, who crowded by hundreds the top of Perce Rock, now 

 fast fading from view in the south, while others, unladen, were hurry- 

 ing to their favorite fishing waters for another cargo. Every buoy, 

 snag, or rock that projected above the water, held one or more of these 

 black fellows, "Cormoroes" George O'Bear called them. 



Occasionally we passed a Puft'in or two, or a few Murres or Razor- 

 billed Auks swimming on the water. Black Guillemots were always in 

 evidence close to shore, as they nest in small numbers up and down this 

 entire coast. It is a pleasure to watch them from a height, as they pur- 



