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ORNITHOLOGICAL NOTES FROM THE WEST 

 COAST OF SCOTLAND. 



By W. H. Workman, M.B.O.U. 



For many years I have wished to visit the west coast of Scot- 

 land in the breeding season, and see the Gulls, &c, with their 

 nests, eggs, and young. Most seasons we have been rather late, 

 but this year we managed to leave Belfast Lough on the 18th of 

 May ; and were about the first sailing yacht to go north. It was 

 very cold and wet, much more like the middle of winter than 

 the beginning of summer. On the way up to Oban we had what 

 might have been the bad luck to get drawn into the much-dreaded 

 Gulf of Corrievrechan. It is rather a strange sensation to feel 

 quite helpless, the rudder being useless, as there was no way on 

 the ' Hotspur.' Sometimes we were swept so close to the rocks 

 that one could have thrown a biscuit on shore, then round in a 

 circle and out to the centre, where there is a short, rather heavy 

 swell; but, owing to the calm weather, we had no trouble, and 

 after about an hour we got shot out at the west side. There were 

 a great many Guillemots, Herring and Lesser Black-backed Gulls 

 fishing in the tideway. We have always noticed this in strong 

 tides ; the fry must be brought to the surface by the rush of 

 water. At Lismore there are always large flocks of Terns feeding. 

 Our first anchorage was Loch Spelve, in Mull, which we reached 

 on the 23rd. We here found the nests of two Sandpipers (Tota- 

 nus hypoleucus), situate rather high up on banks, and made of 

 moss, ferns, and grass ; each nest contained four eggs. We also 

 noticed large numbers of Lapwings (Vanellus vulgaris). 



On the 26th we landed on a small island in the eastern end 

 of the Sound of Mull, where we found a great number of nests of 

 Lesser Black-backed Gulls (Larus fuscus) ; all contained eggs, it 

 being rather early for young birds. The nests were very roughly 

 made of grass, situate among bracken and long coarse grass. A 

 Duck's nest was also found. We rounded Ardnamurchan without 



