Q6 



The next morning the wind was east, blowing hard and cold. 

 Weather conditions absolutely prohibited a trip to the Rock, 

 and so we decided to spend the day on the Gully Flats, where 

 previous observers had reported a colony of Ring-necks, 

 or Semipalmated Plovers. This region consists of sandy or 

 muddy flats, interspersed with low dunes, and lies some ten 

 miles south of Grosse Isle. The east wind was a favoring one, 

 and we were soon sailing across the bay. On our way we 

 stopped at a small island known as Red Island, from the pre- 

 cipitous sides of which flew large numbers of Sea Pigeons, or 

 Guillemots. Though we searched carefully, we w^ere unable 

 to find any nesting holes occupied, and we presumed that we 

 were a little early. When we arrived at the Gully Flats, we 

 were met by the usual swarms of Common Terns, which came 

 out to greet us with their shrill cries. Owing, however, to 

 persistent depredations by the French fishermen, very few 

 Terns' nests with eggs were found. 



Scarcely had we landed when we saw half a dozen pairs of 

 little Ring-necks running around the low flats, accompanied by 

 two or three small Sandpipers. We immediately began to 

 look for the nests of the little fellows, but for four or five hours 

 our search was in vain. The birds were very wild, and would 

 not remain on the nests as long as we were in sight. Our first 

 nest was found purely by accident. While we were eating 

 lunch, a bird was seen to disappear behind a little hillock. 

 When I rose, the bird immediately appeared, and I walked over 

 to the place, but a careful search revealed no nest. After I 

 resumed my seat, the bird was again seen to disappear. Again, 

 ;as soon as I stood up, the bird appeared, and, on going to the 

 place and carefully studying every inch of the ground, I finally 

 saw the nest. On my previous trip I had passed within a foot 

 of it. The four eggs lay with their points close together, and 

 were a perfect match for the brown mud on which they rested 

 among bits of dry seaweed. An attempt to photograph the 

 bird was unavailing. I wasted a valuable hour waiting for 

 the bird to return to her nest, but when she left the second time, 

 it was apparently for good, and we did not see her again. 



While I was photographing the nest, and attempting to get a 



