io8 BIRDS OF RUSSIAN LAPLAND 



will shortly discover its nest there, and when too old to revisit the 

 district I may give my reasons for saying so more fully ! 



During the afternoon and evening we made two long excursions 

 over the island, but only found a Red-throated Pipit's nest. The 

 island had now assumed its summer garb, and presented a very 

 different appearance to that on May 29th. The following were the 

 birds seen : Redwing, Wheatear, Willow- Wren, White Wagtail, 

 Meadow-Pipit, Red-throated Pipit, Mealy Redpoll, Shore-Lark, Lap- 

 land-Bunting, Snow-Bunting, Ringed Plover, Golden Plover, Dotterel, 

 Oyster-catcher, Temminck's Stint, Dunlin, Long-tailed Duck, Herring- 

 Gull, a black-mantled Gull, unidentified, and Pomatorhine Skua. 



June ^oth. — Leaving Kildin island early in the morning we 

 steamed north, and rounding the Ribatchi peninsula reached Heno 

 island at 4 p.m., where we remained during the two following days. 

 Our first attentions were paid to the Velvet Scoters, as I was anxious 

 to secure clutches for friends ; and after considerable search two nests 

 (six and seven eggs) were found in deep cracks in the peat near the 

 spot where we first took eggs of this species in 1899. During our 

 visit four nests of the Red-breasted Merganser (8, 8, 9, 6) were 

 identified, all the eggs being partly incubated. Two nests were 

 under stones and two in holes in the grass hummocks. Many of the 

 Eiders had their young on the water, although some were still laying 

 — probably birds whose first eggs had been taken. Almost all the 

 Dunlins and Phalaropes had hatched out, and the few eggs found were 

 much incubated. Turnstones also had young, and gave us endless 

 trouble, for they are tiresome enough to watch on to their eggs, and ten 

 times worse when there are young. Four Reeve's eggs were rather a 

 prize, as we had not succeeded in finding them here before, although 

 we had seen the birds in 1899. The Terns and Lesser Black-backed 

 Gulls had not yet hatched. On the whole I came to the conclusion 

 that most of the birds were a week to ten days earlier in nesting than 

 in 1899. A species not previously seen here was the Bar-tailed 

 Godwit, six or seven examples of which were feeding on the shore. 



