16 PROCEEDINGS OF THE 



on board might tell us how to get to our destination. We had 

 already hailed several skippers but none knew there was such a 

 place as Little Beach Island. 



We finally reached the east shore and by some piece of dumb 

 luck happened to strike a gut leading into Little Mud Thorough- 

 fare (the names given to all these waters, navigable and other- 

 wise, were looked up on the map after the trip) and about 1:30 

 P. M. we landed on Little Island. We hurried toward the beach 

 but even before we got there we knew that McMuUen was right, 

 as usual, for a small cloud of Skimmers and Terns was being 

 stirred up by a party from a launch who were walking about in 

 the midst of the colony examining the eggs and young, but as we 

 found, doing them no injury. 



There were about 200 adult Skimmers and perhaps 100 young, 

 also a few nests still with eggs. The notes of the young Skimmers 

 flying about were entirely different from the baying calls of the 

 parent birds. It was some time before we located these calls 

 which might be described as a high pitched "cheep." Earlier in the 

 day we had seen a young Skimmer flying about ploughing the 

 main after the manner of his kind though his mandibles were so 

 nearly even that no difference was perceptible. Skimmers do 

 not seem to wander far from their breeding ground. In fact 

 I never remember seeing an adult Skimmer more than three- 

 quarters mile from home during the breeding season nor can I 

 recall our seeing a Skimmer on our coast at other than the breed- 

 ing season. 



We spent about an hour on the Island studying hundreds of 

 Skimmers, Terns, Gulls and shore-birds. We found a Knot with 

 a shot wound in the back unable to fly, a Semi-palmated Sandpiper 

 with a wing shot off, two dead Skimmers and one flying with two 

 shattered primaries hanging from his wing, all no doubt the work 

 of a shore-bird gunner the season for the unprotected species 

 having opened August 15. This incidentally shows the lack of 

 foresight in opening any gunning season while some birds are yet 

 nesting; for the average gunner lacks that love of fair play and 

 sense of justice which would prevent him from taking a crack at 

 almost anything that moves. Soon we were on our way back 

 and presently found to our great discomfort that the coming. 



