WEST COAST OF SCOTLAND. 63 



Skervuile, along with Kittiwakes and Black-headed Gulls, from 

 May 1st to 9th. Two " Dirty Allans " amongst a large flock 

 of Gulls, at Butt of Lewis on July 10th ; Iceland Gull, flying 

 south, on Oct. 11th at Kyleakin ; and great numbers of Kittiwakes 

 at Skervuile, on Oct. 3nd and 22nd. Land Notes. — Common 

 Terns at nesting haunts in Kirkcudbrightshire, but no eggs laid 

 by May 17th (auct. J. J. Armistead, Esq.) By Aug. 12th Terns 

 had left their nesting-ground {auct. cit.) 



CoLYMBiD^. — Great Northern Diver seen at Kyleakin, near the 

 lighthouse, on May 10th, light E. wind ; again on June 19th, 

 light W. wind. In autumn, at Monach, four seen, light S.E. 

 wind, rain, and fog ; two flying S. at Corsewall on Nov. 21st, and 

 two, resting, on 22nd ; two flying ''towards N. Uist " {i.e. N.E.), 

 at Monach, on Dec. loth, and one flying east at Corsewall on 

 Dec. 16th. 



General Kemarks. 



A vast migration took place this year upon our E. coast, the 

 heaviest waves breaking upon the entrance to the Firth of Forth, 

 at the Isle of May station, and again at Pentland Skerries. Bell 

 Eock came in also for a share, though apparently, from the 

 schedules, a much smaller one than at the Isle of May. The 

 easterly winds prevailed all along our E. coast, generally strong 

 to gales, and the successions of south-easterly and easterly 

 gales in October, between the 8th and 23rd, occurring as they 

 did, just at the usual time of the principal migration, brought 

 vast numbers of land-birds to our shores. From Faroe in the 

 north to the extreme south of England this is found to have 

 been the case, but the usual blank on our Scottish coast occurs, 

 over a large extent of shore-line, from Dunnet Head, in Caith- 

 ness, all the way to Bell Eock. From all this great stretch 

 of coast, embracing no less than ten lighthouse stations, I 

 have only two schedules returned. These two schedules res- 

 pectively are from Cromarty, a closely landlocked station, and 

 the other from Chanonry, a still more completely landlocked 

 station, — both absolutely sheltered, as it were, from the track 

 of the great S.E. and easterly gales ; I may therefore say that I 

 have not a single statistic of direct value, between Dunnet Head 

 and Bell Eock, as regards the general migration. My thanks 



