BIRD NOTES IN SARK. 261 



any consideration, allow visitors to go by themselves, for the 

 strong currents, even on the smoothest day, are terribly swift 

 and dangerous except to the thoroughly seasoned and experienced 

 boatmen. 



May 29th was the day selected for this pleasant excursion, 

 and, though the sea was generally as smooth as an inland lake, 

 we experienced one considerable "bucketing" when landing on 

 L'Etac de Sark, but this was the only difficult landing of the 

 day, and was due to the fact that the tide was ebbing. 



After all such a trip is not really expensive, for it means about 

 seven hours' work for the boatmen, and the charge is ten shillings, 

 with an additional two shillings for the two men's lunch, and 

 whatever little tip you care to give them on the conclusion of the 

 journey. 



I was much struck by the sociability of the various kinds of 

 birds that were nesting in close proximity to one another, and it 

 was to me an altogether new feature to hear of the Lesser Black- 

 backed Gull and Herring-Gull occupying the same nest. Our 

 boatmen spoke of it as quite a normal state of affairs, and seemed 

 quite surprised to hear that it was new to us. We all know that 

 there are a great many birds who are eminently sociable when 

 carrying out their marital duties, and we have also many a time 

 heard of two Partridges sharing a common nursery, and sitting 

 side by side on their eggs ; but the fact of two different kinds of 

 birds, although closely affined to one another, laying in and 

 occupying one nest was, to me, at any rate, altogether new. 



On landing at Grande Moie, I saw a Lesser Black-back fly 

 off, and, having climbed up to the nest, discovered therein two 

 eggs ; one, the larger, which the boatmen assured me belongs to 

 the Lesser Black-back, is pale olive-brown in ground colouring ; 

 the umber spottings and blotchings are rather more confluent 

 towards the middle of the egg, and also to a lesser extent at the 

 larger end, and it has a few faint grey markings ; while the 

 smaller one is a pale greenish stone-colour, spotted and dashed 

 pretty evenly all over the surface, and at the large end there is a 

 scribbly streak somewhat after the fashion of the Guillemot's 

 egg, and in this one, too, there are faint grey underlying 

 blotches. These two eggs I have in my possession. I also found 

 another nest, containing three eggs, the dark variety of which 



