Jan., 1908 THE NEW RESERVES ON THE WASHINGTON COAST 49 



usually manages to find some inaccessible place to put her eggs, but she quits the 

 nest on the slightest provocation, or none, and the Raven laughs in his sable 

 sleeve. An estimate of 6,000 would scarcely cover the Baird Cormorant population. 



Oceanodroma kaedingi. Kaeding Petrel. Petrel cities exist on Krin (off Gren- 

 ville Point), Alexander Islet, Dhuoyuatzachtahl, Wishaloolth, Tatoosh, and Car- 

 roll. The last named is a mere village of some hundreds. The metropolis is 

 evidently on Dhuoyuatzachtahl, where in the space of an acre perhaps 40,000 of 

 these eery sea- waifs nest. Very possibly other colonies may be found on such 

 rocks as Cake, Rounded Islet, and Silversides, as these were not minutely inspected . 



Strangely enough, no Fork-tailed Petrels (^Oceanodroma ftircata) were seen 

 along the entire coast, altho they are said to abound on the Oregon rocks. 



Lunda cirrhata. Tufted Puffin. Many of the Olympiadic islets have sloping 

 grass-covered sides and these are invariably occupied by Puffin burrows. Thirteen 

 major warrens were noted, and of these the largest occurs on Carroll, whose Puffin 

 population in 1907 we estimated at 10,000. Puffin burrows are usually easy of 

 access, inasmuch as the more precipitous rocks are generally denuded; but now and 

 then one sees a high-hung colony as safe as tho transplanted to Elysium. Con- 

 trary to the experience (?) of certain imaginative writers, I have found these birds 

 absolutely silent. 



Cerorhinca monocerata. Rhinoceros Auklet. The only colony of this bird 

 appears on Destruction Island, whose slanting sides, grass-covered, brushy, or 

 barren, are completely given over to them. This island, unlike the remaining 

 members of the Olympiad es, is composed of glacial, or glacio-alluvial, deposits in 

 place, a mere detached bit of the mainland floor; of a piece with the Hoh valley 

 four or five miles away. On this account, therefore, it offers asylum to birds 

 which insist on driving long tunnels — ten to fifteen feet long in some instances — 

 and the Auklets on Destruction must number close on to 10,000. 



Ptychoramphus aleuticus. Cassin Auklet. Because of its early nesting this 

 bird was overlooked in July, '06. In June we found them upon Dhuoyuatzachtahl, 

 Alexander, and Carroll, and they doubtless occur in season at other places. 



Certain cries heard on Tatoosh Island on the night of June 4th we were not 

 able to investigate because of weather conditions, but suspected Cassins. 



Cepphus columba. Pigeon Guillemot. Not common along this coast. Per- 

 haps not above fifty pairs to be found — these chiefly at Grenville Arch, Willoughby, 

 Destruction, and Carroll. One bird nesting on one of the sandstone reefs which 

 guard Destruction Island, had squeezed herself into so narrow a chink that she 

 was glad to call one egg a "set." 



Uria troile californica. California Murre. Murres do not occur in great num- 

 bers. More occur upon Carroll Islet and its adjacent pinnacle, Paahw^oke-it, than 

 elsewhere; but an estimate of a thousand would cover them. The crown of the 

 Grenville Pillar holds perhaps 500, and 300 more find lodgment on Willoughby. 

 Apart from these three stations only small groups of ten or a dozen pairs may be 

 found. 



As a result of the July reconnoissance an estimate of 40,000 was placed upon 

 the entire sea-bird population of the Olympiades, other than the Petrels. In June 

 last we were inclined to scale up Gulls and Baird Cormorants one-fourth, Puffins 

 and Rhinoceros Auklets one-half, leaving the total, including Cassin Auklets, at 

 nearer 60,000. The Kaeding Petrels, of course, constitute the element of uncer- 

 tainty, but an estimate of 100,000 will at least represent the "order of magnitude" 

 of their numbers. Altogether an estate well worth preserving by Uncle Sam for 

 Uncle Sam's nephews, of whom we are gratefully which. 



Seattle, Washington. 



