CALIFORNIA WATER BIRDS. No. I.— MONTEREY 

 AND VICINITY FROM THE MIDDLE OF JUNE 

 TO THE END OF AUGUST. 



BY LEVERETT M. LOOMIS, 



Curator of the Department of Ornithology. 

 [With Plate xix.] 



A glance at a map of California will reveal that Mon- 

 terey Bay is not a sheltered roadstead, but merely an 

 abrupt inward bend in the coast-line. In the vicinity of 

 the town of Monterey there is quite a heavy surf at all 

 times, except in coves protected by little promontories 

 that intercept and break the swell from the ocean. To 

 the northward of the town, in the direction of Pt. Santa 

 Cruz, the beach is sandy with high dunes immediately 

 back. In the opposite direction, toward Pacific Grove, 

 Pt. Pinos, and southward, the coast-line is rock-bound. 

 Sunken rocks and miniature islets are numerous a few 

 miles south of Pt. Pinos. These rocky islets are favorite 

 resorts of seals, sea-lions, and water birds. The larger 

 ones whose surfaces are above the reach of the surf are 

 occupied as rookeries by sea birds during the breeding 

 season. 



While there is no rain during the summer months, cold 

 fogs are frequent, and so dense are they sometimes, that 

 they almost amount to drizzling rain. There were but 

 few sunny days, owing to the " high fogs" and " low 

 fogs," during the two months and a half of my stay in 

 1894. During a fortnight in June the sun was seen only 

 on one day. These fogs hide the coast mountains, and 

 consequently must have a marked influence upon the 

 migratory birds that follow the coast-line in their journey 

 southward. The locality is a very favorable one for ob- 

 serving the early southward movements, for there are no 

 storms as upon the Atlantic seaboard. Disturbances far 



2d See., Vol. V. ( 12 ) June 19, 1895. 



