380 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



A VISIT TO THE BIRD ROCK (" CRAIG-Y-DERYN"), 



TOWYN, NORTH WALES. 



By E. Cambridge Phillips, F.L.S. 



It was the 26th of July, in the Jubilee year; an accident 

 had temporarily laid me up, but a fortnight at that healthy but 

 quiet little village of Borth, Cardiganshire, with its comfortable 

 hotel, and, best of all, its pure sea-breezes wafted straight over 

 the Atlantic, had nearly made me all right again. Borth itself 

 is singularly destitute of bird-life, the sea being usually very 

 rough, and there is no feeding-ground — nothing but beautiful 

 sands three miles in length. On our right we approach Ynyslas 

 and the estuary of the Dovey, the muddy flats of which teem with 

 shore-birds, and run nearly up to the prettily-situated town of 

 Machynlleth. On the opposite side of the mouth of the estuary 

 is Aberdovey, an excellent place for anyone wishing to explore 

 that long extent of muddy flats I have before alluded to. Past 

 the mouth of the Dovey, in Cardigan Bay, is Towyn, easily 

 distinguishable from Borth, and as in the evening I could often 

 see small strings of Cormorants, Graculus carbo, heading towards 

 Towyn, and, on enquiry, finding they were returning to Craig-y- 

 Deryn, their breeding-place, I determined to pay it a visit. 



Starting by train from Borth, we ran along the estuary of 

 the Dovey until we came to Aberdovey Junction. The tide 

 being out, there were plenty of birds on the flats, principally 

 Curlews, Gulls, and Plovers, the Black-headed Gull being espe- 

 cially numerous ; and on nearing the Junction, a couple of 

 Sheldrakes, with five or six little ones, were calmly waddling 

 along the mud. Changing at Aberdovey Junction, and crossing 

 the Dovey, a pleasant ride on the opposite, but more rocky, 

 side of the estuary, past Aberdovey, landed us at last at Towyn, 

 where, however, we were still a long way from the object of our 

 journey. 



Acting on advice given us before starting, we took the little 

 slate -railway from Towyn to Abergynolwen, a distance of about 

 five miles through most charming scenery, and on alighting at 

 Abergynolwen we found some difficulty in getting a trap of any 

 sort, but a few words in Welsh from my wife soon procured us 

 an excellent tea in the small but clean village inn, and a capital 



