The Oologist. 



VOL. XIII. NO. 2. ALBION, N. Y., FEBRUARY, 1896. 



Whole No. 124. 



My '95 Collecting Trip in Penobscot Bay. 



June 22, 1895, found me established 

 in pleasant quai'ters, with a private 

 family at Sunshine, Deer Island, Maine 

 and provided with every comfort that 

 could be furnished by a genial host and 

 his thoughtful wife. From these head- 

 quarters, I intended to take a sailboat 

 on pleasant days, and make neighborly 

 visits to the various seabirds which 

 nest annually in great numbers on var- 

 ious small outlying islands. 



The next day was Sunday so 1 was 

 obliged to wait until Monday, the 24th, 

 before starting to do any collecting. 

 On arising Monday morning, I found a 

 dense fog enveloping everything out- 

 doors, and thought with dismay "This 

 dishes collecting for today;" for I did 

 not then fully appreciate the marvelous 

 skill and intuition by means of which 

 the Deer Isle sailors can navigate their 

 boats in the densest fogs. 



While disconsolately surveying the 

 foggy landscape, I was much surprised 

 to see Captain Conary, my boatman, 

 approaching with shot gun and supplies 

 in hand as if he proposed to go on a 

 days sail. 



"All ready for a visit to Trumpet Is- 

 land," he queried on nearing me 



"Yes, if you think you can find it in 

 this foiv" I replied. 



He 1 lioLight we could find the island 

 some u ay so I at once gathered my col- 

 lecliiiu' apparatus, together with a 

 bountiful lunch thoughtfully provided 

 by my hostess, and we were soon seated 

 in a commodious sailboat which moved 

 rapidly along under the impetus of a 

 fair breeze. We were rapidly nearing 



our destination, for which Captain Con- 

 ary steered a straight course in spite of 

 the dense fog, but the wind finally fail- 

 ed us and the boat lay becalmed. Luck- 

 ily the fog lifted at this time, and re- 

 vealed Trumpet Island some distance 

 from us. 



I ai once decided to row to the island 

 in the peapod which was towing at the 

 stern of our boat, leaving the captain 

 to follow in the sail boat as soon as a 

 breeze came. 



For the benefit of the uninitiated, I 

 will explain that a peapod is a row 

 boat, pointed at both ends and com- 

 paratively flat-bottomed; such boats are 

 almost impossible to capsize, so they 

 are much used by the fishermen in vis- 

 iting and hauling their lobster pots. 



After half an hours labor with the 

 oars, I was within a few rods of the is- 

 lands, for there are four of them near 

 one another. Trumpet Island is the 

 largest of these, and it is connected 

 with Barge Island, the next largest, at 

 low tide. Off the point of Barge Island 

 lies Ship Island and a small grassy 

 ledge of which I do not remember the 

 name. 



The Common Terns began to rise 

 from these islands by hundreds and to 

 fly screaming overhead. They seemed 

 most numerous on Trumpet Island so 

 I landed there, and at once shot a few 

 of the birds before they should get too 

 wild. Six birds were obtained, all 

 being Sterna hirundo, so I was disap- 

 pointed as I had hoped to obtain the 

 Arctic species here. I did not see any Arc- 

 tic Terns during my visit to this place, 

 although a party who visited Ship Is- 

 land in '95 found a few pair nesting 

 there. 



