Cleaves : Bird Photographing on Islands of Virginia 7 



are at once pleasing to the eye and tempting to the appetite. 

 Along the shore may be seen small towns, mostly situated where 

 some creek or inlet affords facilities for the navigation of light 

 craft. The streets of these villages are often paved with crushed 

 shells, which make highways of surprising excellence. The sup- 

 ply of this paving material frequently exceeds the demand and 

 one's eye and nose are likely to detect the presence of great heaps 

 of shells, which, together with the oyster and clam rakes and 

 dredges, make the occupation of the natives obvious. The clams, 

 oysters, snails and the like are the products of the mudflats and 

 the bottom of the ocean, but the waters that cover these are inhab- 

 ited by fish of many varieties and sizes. Indeed the entire region 

 is rich in sea food, and it is this abundance of nourishment that 

 accounts very largely for the presence on this coast of such num- 

 bers of sea birds. 



The ease with which the Cape Charles region can be reached 

 from New York is certain to be a matter of surprise to one who 

 has never been there before. At nine o'clock p.m. one boards 

 the Cape Charles express in the heart of New York City and 

 after a ride of nine hours awakes to find himself in a country of 

 potato fields and negro cabins. Presently the station of Cheriton, 

 Va., is reached and a wagon ride of two and a half miles toward 

 the east brings him to Oyster, a small village which might be 

 described as a cluster of houses beside an immense heap of oyster 

 shells. The bird islands lie some miles out from here, but the 

 distance is covered by a gasoline launch in a trifle over an hour. 

 Thus the entire journey is completed within half a day. 



Mr. Francis Harper was my companion on the expedition and 

 our sojourn among the islands off Cape Charles occupied the last 

 week in June, 1911. Neither of us had been to a similar region 

 previously and many of the birds were entirely new to us. Of 

 these the black-headed or laughing gulls, Larus atricilla L., 

 were among the first to appear, a few being noted when we were 

 striking out in the launch from Oyster for Cobb's Island. A 

 number of these birds seemed to be flying inland and were per- 



