68 



hopes of finding a nest of the Black Duck. On the way we 

 found our second and last nest of the Piping Plover, with the 

 usual complement of four eggs. Though other observers had 

 reported the Piping Plover as common, we saw but six indi- 

 viduals of this species during our whole stay. Prest informed 

 us, how^ever, that they had been much commoner in previous 

 years. 



When we reached East Point, we decided to leave the pre- 

 viously discovered Short-eared Owl's nest alone, but we collected 

 the set of Virginia Rail's eggs, which we found, on blowing, to be 

 advanced in incubation. 



In the afternoon the wind suddenly died out, and after a short 

 time a gentle breeze sprang up from the south. ' ' To-morrow it is 

 Bird Rock," said Prest. So we again packed up and trudged 

 back to Grosse Isle. 



Bird Rock. 



A collecting trip to the Magdalen Islands would be far from 

 complete without a visit to Bird Rock. For while one might 

 visit the islands themselves and be favored with the best of 

 fortune, as we were, he would find that his work was only half 

 done if he failed to see that wonderful rock, the home of one of 

 the largest colonies of sea birds on the Atlantic Coast. 



The rock itself lies about twenty-four miles north of Grosse 

 Isle, but in order to reach it and land successfully, one must 

 encounter the most favorable conditions of wind and weather, 

 for otherwise the violence of the sea is such that in an open, 

 frail lobster-boat a landing would be not only highly dangerous 

 but practically impossible. One may imagine, then, the eager- 

 ness with which we scanned the sky each night and noted the 

 direction of the wind each morning, and our disappointment as 

 day after day passed without a sign that conditions would 

 favor us. 



At length, however, the morning of June 22 dawned bright and 

 clear with a light breeze from the south; and about ten o'clock 

 we embarked for the rock in Brest's lobster-boat, the "Loretta," 

 which was just seventeen feet in length, and open at that. We 

 had not been sailing more than half an hour when we discovered 

 that the boat was taking in water about as fast as we could 



