324 Bird - Lore 



"March 9. The first Gulls made their appearance in a snow storm, 

 prospects not encouraging, but they stayed on the Island and commenced 

 building nests (or tearing old ones to pieces). About May 2 Gulls left the 

 shore line and took to the center of the island. May 14, found first egg ; 

 first full set, May 19, found first young bird, June 11 ; August 15, no- 

 tice some of the old birds are going. A very few birds have been shot 

 from boats ; not so many as in form,er years. I have found ii dead birds 

 this season that were wounded and came back to the Island to die. The 

 cause of the greatest loss of life is when the young birds are half grown and 

 about ready to fly and persons walking around the shore when there is a surf 

 on, then the young birds are frightened and make for the water, and the sea 

 dashes them against the rocks, breaking their wings and drowning them. 

 That is now the most trouble to guard against ; it is not done with evil intent. 

 The old birds do not fail to provide food for their young, although as the 

 birds get large the old ones have to go sometimes many miles to do it, but 

 as a general thing there is plenty for them. I have watched them coming 

 back at night, appearing very tired, flying very low, one behind the other. 

 They would light near where the young should be, and call, and the chicks 

 would rush up to the old bird and pick its bill; after the proper time the old 

 bird will stretch out his neck and up will come a mess of almost everything 

 from bread, sea cucumbers, livers, fish (all the small kind). It is astonish- 

 ing sometimes how much they will throw up. If there is anything left after 

 the feast the old bird will swallow it again. The only time there is anything 

 left is when the birds are very young, then the old bird will throw up the 

 same mess two and three times in as many hours, being very careful to pick 

 up what is left each time. Woe betide the young bird that belongs to a 

 neighbor who tries to fill up at the wrong place. I have seen a young bird 

 killed by one blow from the old bird's bill, blinded and scalped, — his head 

 torn in two. 



"As the young birds gain in size the old birds bring them larger fish to 

 swallow. We have a few old birds this year who know the time we feed the 

 hens, and when that time draws near they are on hand to dine with the 

 hens. There have not been as many birds on this Island this season, but 

 there have been more on Little Duck. I should say we have had about 

 3,500 birds and about i ,600 nests, and I think more than double that number 

 of young birds. About every nest had three young birds, and if it had not 

 been for the surf business the record would be broken. We have about 300 

 Sea Pigeons, (Black Guillemots) and the Stormy Petrels number in the 

 thousands. One egg is their limit. We have some 200 or 300 Sandpip'ers. 

 There have been a large number of field and wood birds' nests on the Island. 



"In Southwest Harbor last month it was a beautiful sight to see hun- 

 dreds of Gulls off the fish wharves picking up the floatings. I heard many 

 remarks in their favor by the summer people." 



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