148 



W& OOtOGIST. 



A Day with the Gulls. 



One fine day in June another oologically 

 inclined friend and myself determined to 

 pay a visit to the haunts of the Sea-gull, in 

 hopes of making some additions to our cab- 

 inet. We started at about 10 a. m., for a 

 summer resort on the sea, about eight miles 

 by rail from this city. We arrived in good 

 season and started out for the clam flats, 

 where we hired a boat and started off on the 

 "river. ' ' We rowed steadily and soon found 

 ourselves in the bay. The water was as 

 calm as a summer's day. We stopped to 

 take a swim in front of a beach cottage 

 which seemed to be uninhabited and town 

 struck out to sea. We were bound for two, 

 rocky islets out about two miles from the 

 point. After a long pull we got out on one 

 of them and securing the boat, sat down to 

 eat our dinner as it was past one o'clock, 

 gulls in profusion circleing around our heads. 

 We found a sort of a little cave and sat 

 down there to partake of our lunch, After 

 dinner we read out of the Oot>ogist and then 

 started to look for Gulls' eggs. Clouds of 

 these birds circled round uttering sharp 

 cries. These we identified as Kittiwake 

 Gulls, Rissa fridaetyla. These clouds of 

 Gulls with their flashing white breasts and 

 unearthly cries, made an impressive and 

 novel scene on that rocky and lonesome is- 

 let out at sea. However we thought more 

 of the eggs and as we were not on the side 

 where most of the gulls bred, we walked 

 quickly along the rocky beach, or shore. 



It is a strange fact that the gulls breed in 

 the largest numbers on the sotithem or 

 southeastern shore, while the northern side 

 side of the islet is almost deserted. The 

 gulls around us increased in numbers as we 

 advanced, sometimes darting at us savagely 

 as if to peck our eyes out, and here is where 

 the firecrackers came into play. The ex- 

 plosion of one or two of these, (saved from 

 the 4th of July,) drove the Gulls nearest us 

 away and saved our eyes. 



We soon found two sets, one in seme sea 

 weed ou the ground, the other under a rock 

 With no nest whatever. The first contained 



two eggs, the second, two young. The eggs 

 varied in ground color from grayish to yel- 

 lowish or buff color, spotted and blotched 

 with lilac and different shades of brown. 

 I think the average size of those we found 

 was about 2.20 by 1.45. Some, however, 

 were more elongated and others more spher- 

 ical. We strolled on, finding several more 

 nests among the crannies of a rocky ledge, 

 which rose about 25 feet and faced the 

 shore. I was packing away a set when a 

 shout from my companion, who was ex- 

 ploring along on top of the ledge, made me 

 look up. He had discovered a handsome 

 set of three eggs, which we both thought 

 to be of the Common Tern, but the sight of a 

 pair of the Arctic species convinced us that 

 the find was theirs. We found two more 

 sets, corresponding exactly to the first, which 

 belonged to the Arctic Terns and in fact we 

 saw a number of these birds while on the 

 Island, but not one of the Common species. 



On the southern part of the islet was a 

 cliff, some eighty feet in height which was 

 literally alive with eggs. . Here we secured 

 all the sets we wanted and also a young gnll 

 which we thought might make a pet, the 

 firecrackers meanwhile doing the best of 

 service in keeping off the too obtrusive gulls. 



The rocks here were white with excre- 

 ment. I suppose the gulls have bred here 

 for years uninterrupted. 



The lowering of the sun told us that it 

 was time to return and that we would not 

 have time to visit the other island, which 

 abound in Terns and Gulls. We took a "cut " 

 across the islet, instead of going around by 

 the beach, and as luck would have it, we 

 found a Sheldrakes nest in a hollow tree. 



The American Sheldrake or "Fish Gull, : ' 

 is often found on these islands off the coasts, 

 generally nesting in hollow trees and some- 

 times even in fallen trunks . It constructs 

 a nest of grass, moss etc. , and often seaweed 

 enters into its composition. I believe Davie 

 says in his admirable "Key to the Nests and 

 Eggs of N. A. Birds, " that the nest is always 

 lined with down. This one we found was 

 quite destitute of any such tJdng. The eggs 

 were eight in number, size about 2. CO by 

 1. 75, of a yellowish drab or buffy color, hard 



