32 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 



colony. When Audubon visited the place in 1833 he found and 

 made record of what was not generally known at the time, that the 

 attacks of the eggers upon the Gannet nests here and elsewhere, 

 particularly on the Labrador coast, were confiscating some hundreds 

 of thousands of eggs annually which were sold in the New York 

 and Boston markets. These attacks have undoubtedly been the 

 cause of the extinction of the Gannet roosts on the islands and 

 coasts of the Labrador, on Perroquet island and on the Grand 

 Manan. Since the establishment of the light on the Bird Rock the 

 attacks of the eggers on this colony have diminished, but the colony 

 has been and is yet exposed to the demands of the fishermen for 

 eggs and to the incidental killing of the birds. 



The history of this bird colony has been fairly summarized in 

 the recent pubHcation, " The Gannet," by J. H. Gurney, F.Z.S. 

 (London 1913), and the statement there incorporated in regard to 

 the census of the colony ten years ago, quoted from observations 

 made by Mr A. C. Bent, would make the total of the colony about 

 10,000 birds, of which there were 



Gannets 



2500 



Kittiwakes 



2000 



Razorbills 



1800 



Brunnich murres 



1600 



Murres 



1400 



Ring murres 



100 



Puffins 



600 



My visits to this colony have been of more recent date, 1910-11, 

 and without attempting to make an estimate of the total population, 

 I believe that the Gannet element in the colony is larger than above 

 intimated and that the total census of the birds would probably 

 not fall below 15,000. In my judgment, the colony is not at the 

 present time decreasing and I think this is due largely to the com- 

 paratively few visits being made in these latter days to these 

 islands by collectors of birds and of birds' eggs. 



Protection. The greater Bird Rock with its adjoining islands being 

 Crown land, guardianship could, in my judgment, be most efficiently 

 accomplished by assigning that duty to the inspector of fisheries on 

 the Gaspe coast, Commander William Wakeham. Commander 

 Wakeham having a cruiser at his disposal is more frequently in 

 the Magdalen islands than any other official of the government. 

 Having supervisory functions, he could, with the aid of the light- 

 keeper as guardian on the ground, exercise a forcible supervision 

 and protection of the place. 



Bonaventure Island 



The bird colony on Bonaventure island has the same constitution 

 as that on the Bird Rock. This island lies 3 miles off the coast 

 from the village of Perce ; it is private property and its area of 

 about 6 square miles is practically held in fee by the present occu- 

 pants, among which is one of the oldest fishing establishments on 

 the gulf. 



