Spring Notes from various Scottish Islands.



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some hours from the east and rain had fallen heavily, a Swallow

flew slowly in at my window and settled on the window-sill, a

welcome sight to one who had been tramping over the island for

hours every day, seeing little but the resident birds.


A very short walk from my cottage revealed that a number of

the common migrants had arrived, as well as many of the more local

species, such as White Wagtails, Pied Flycatchers, etc., but the only

birds worthy of special note were the Ortolan Buntings. It was

difficult to estimate their number, for, as too often happens on Fair

Isle, the weather which brings the birds makes the watching of them

all but impossible ; but every little patch of ploughed land held one

or more, and I can only have seen a very small proportion of the

arrivals. They remained on the island a few days in rapidly

decreasing numbers.


On the 15th May, when steaming up the Moray Firth, I saw

a small flock of about twelve to fifteen Brent Geese. At the Shiant

Isles a very pretty Pied Puffin was observed.


On the 23rd May I visited St. Kilda. The most common

birds inland at the time of my visit were Whimbrels, Wheatears,

Twites, and White Wagtails. The Wimbrels were all over the island

both on cultivated and uncultivated ground. Meadow-pipits, Rock-

pipits, and Tree-sparrows were also common round the houses.

There were a few Hooded Crows, but doubtless the greater number of

the resident birds were away breeding on the cliffs. Several St.

Kilda Wrens were noticed about the houses and “ cleits,” where the

natives kept their fuel.


St. Kilda is well known as one of the principal resorts in

Great Britain of the Fulmar. At the time of my visit the inhabitants

were bringing in boat-loads which had been noosed on the cliffs. It

would seem a short-sighted policy for a people which depends

largely upon these birds for a living to kill them at this season of

the year ; but, judging from the numbers, the practice has apparently

been carried on with impunity in the past. I was fortunate enough

to obtain one of the rare “ Blue Fulmars,” the only one seen amongst

thousands of others. The bill is not “ blue ” as described to Mr.

Eagle Clarke (see Studies in Bird Migration, ii., p. 24), but appeared

to be very like that of the Common Fulmar, though I had not the



