﻿NOTES 
  ON 
  THE 
  BIRDS 
  OF 
  ANGLE 
  SEA. 
  29 
  

  

  roadside 
  at 
  Malldraeth 
  Yard 
  ; 
  they 
  were 
  resting, 
  but 
  every 
  now 
  

   and 
  then 
  one 
  would 
  plunge 
  its 
  beak 
  into 
  the 
  stream 
  and 
  capture 
  

   a 
  small 
  eel 
  or 
  other 
  fish. 
  We 
  found 
  Oystercatchers 
  nesting 
  on 
  

   the 
  beach 
  by 
  the 
  sandhills 
  in 
  several 
  places 
  on 
  the 
  Warren 
  ; 
  two 
  

   of 
  these 
  nests, 
  on 
  sand, 
  had 
  no 
  lining, 
  but 
  a 
  third, 
  on 
  shingle, 
  

   was 
  lined 
  with 
  fragments 
  of 
  beach-worn 
  shells. 
  When 
  a 
  brood- 
  

   ing 
  Oystercatcher 
  sights 
  a 
  man 
  from 
  a 
  distance 
  it 
  always 
  leaves 
  

   the 
  nest 
  silently, 
  running 
  for 
  some 
  distance 
  before 
  rising, 
  if 
  it 
  

   takes 
  wing 
  at 
  all. 
  On 
  June 
  12th 
  we 
  found 
  a 
  nest 
  in 
  a 
  hollow 
  on 
  

   the 
  Warren, 
  perhaps 
  a 
  quarter 
  of 
  a 
  mile 
  from 
  the 
  sea 
  ; 
  the 
  bird 
  

   ran 
  from 
  the 
  nest 
  and 
  disappeared 
  amongst 
  the 
  sandhills. 
  The 
  

   nest 
  was 
  a 
  clean 
  cut 
  hollow 
  in 
  the 
  turf, 
  seven 
  inches 
  in 
  diameter, 
  

   and 
  two 
  inches 
  deep 
  in 
  the 
  centre, 
  lined 
  with 
  a 
  few 
  dead 
  twigs 
  of 
  

   dwarf 
  willow, 
  and 
  many 
  dead 
  shells 
  of 
  a 
  small 
  land 
  snail, 
  Helix 
  

   caperata. 
  On 
  the 
  same 
  day 
  we 
  saw 
  a 
  hen 
  Kestrel, 
  heavily 
  bur- 
  

   dened, 
  fly 
  slowly 
  across 
  the 
  Warren, 
  and 
  alight 
  on 
  a 
  rock. 
  When 
  

   we 
  reached 
  the 
  spot 
  the 
  bird 
  rose 
  and 
  let 
  fall 
  a 
  young 
  Starling, 
  

   which 
  was 
  fully 
  feathered, 
  and 
  had 
  been 
  on 
  the 
  wing 
  for 
  some 
  

   time 
  ; 
  a 
  bird 
  of 
  this 
  size 
  is 
  rarely 
  taken 
  by 
  the 
  Kestrel. 
  We 
  were 
  

   shown 
  two 
  clutches 
  of 
  Merlins' 
  eggs 
  which 
  had 
  been 
  taken 
  on 
  the 
  

   sandhills 
  this 
  spring. 
  

  

  The 
  colony 
  of 
  Common 
  Terns 
  on 
  Ynys-yr-adar 
  is 
  a 
  large 
  one, 
  

   and 
  when 
  we 
  visited 
  the 
  stack 
  on 
  June 
  12th 
  the 
  birds 
  rose 
  and 
  

   flew 
  above 
  us 
  in 
  a 
  screaming 
  white 
  cloud. 
  Old 
  plants 
  of 
  Lava- 
  

   tera 
  arbor 
  ea 
  and 
  Beta 
  maritima 
  grow 
  in 
  the 
  cracks 
  in 
  the 
  jagged 
  

   rocks, 
  the 
  woody 
  stems 
  of 
  the 
  beet 
  being 
  often 
  as 
  thick 
  as 
  one's 
  

   wrist. 
  Some 
  of 
  the 
  nests 
  were 
  built 
  of 
  dead 
  stems, 
  and 
  the 
  eggs 
  

   placed 
  amongst 
  the 
  herbage, 
  but 
  other 
  eggs 
  were 
  placed 
  on 
  the 
  

   bare 
  rock 
  without 
  any 
  attempt 
  at 
  a 
  nest. 
  In 
  June, 
  1901, 
  Mr. 
  

   Cummings 
  saw 
  a 
  Black 
  Guillemot 
  in 
  full 
  breeding 
  plumage 
  on 
  

   this 
  stack 
  ; 
  the 
  bird, 
  it 
  seems, 
  had 
  been 
  noticed 
  by 
  the 
  pilot 
  for 
  

   about 
  three 
  weeks 
  previously, 
  but 
  he 
  could 
  not 
  identify 
  it 
  with 
  

   any 
  bird 
  he 
  knew. 
  It 
  was 
  solitary 
  and 
  very 
  shy. 
  

  

  On 
  June 
  11th 
  a 
  party 
  of 
  at 
  least 
  twenty-three 
  Sanderlings 
  in 
  

   breeding 
  plumage 
  were 
  feeding 
  on 
  the 
  beach 
  in 
  Llanddwyn 
  Bay. 
  

   When 
  crossing 
  the 
  beach 
  next 
  day 
  we 
  picked 
  up 
  one 
  which 
  had 
  

   been 
  shot 
  ; 
  it 
  was 
  in 
  full 
  summer 
  dress. 
  Three 
  Common 
  Scoters 
  

   were 
  swimming 
  close 
  inshore 
  in 
  this 
  bay 
  on 
  the 
  evening 
  of 
  the 
  

   11th, 
  and 
  on 
  the 
  12th 
  we 
  saw 
  a 
  pair 
  of 
  Great 
  Crested 
  Grebes 
  in 
  

   full 
  breeding 
  plumage 
  on 
  the 
  sea 
  in 
  Malldraeth 
  Bay. 
  

  

  