ORNITHOLOGICAL NOTES FROM IRELAND. $65 



When I was returning from Bartragh on the 5th inst. I 

 observed a dark-coloured Duck diving in the channel near Goose 

 Island, and, not being able to identify it satisfactorily with my 

 glass, I let the boat drift up with the tide until within range, 

 when I fired, the bird diving at the shot ; but on coming up it 

 rose, when, with my second barrel, I secured a beautiful speci- 

 men of an adult male Black Scoter, in perfect plumage. It 

 was the first I met in summer, and, although numbers frequent 

 the open bay in winter, none ever came into the channels of 

 the estuary, so I felt very fortunate in obtaining such a fine 

 specimen so very unexpectedly. 



For some days past* both Curlews and Redshanks have begun 

 to return from their breeding grounds to the estuary, and on the 

 28th June I was surprised to see three or four Greenshanks on 

 the shore here, the earliest date on which I have ever known them 

 to return from their breeding haunts. 



The Sandwich Terns, as usual, were the earliest of our 

 visitors. I saw one on March 26th, but the main body of the 

 flight did not appear in the estuary until the first week of April. 

 Although the Lesser Terns arrived on May 4th, the Common 

 Terns were some days later in arriving. When visiting the Terns' 

 breeding haunts near Killala on June 13th, I found, as usual, the 

 Common Terns confining themselves to the gravelly " Inch," 

 about thirty pairs having nests on it, and perhaps eight or ten 

 pairs of the Lesser Tern ; while the Arctic Terns were scattered 

 all over the Ross sands for over half a mile along with the majority 

 of the Lesser, laying their eggs on the bare sand and gravel. 

 The numbers of the Common Terns have diminished, while there 

 has been a great increase in those of the Arctic Tern. 



* This communication is dated July 8th. 



