78 A VERTEBRATE FAUNA OF THE MORAY BASIN. 



Stock Doves — a pair of which we clearly identified flying low past 

 the east end of Loch Spynie. 



On the loch we could have taken hundreds of eggs of the 

 Black-Headed Gulls, but we contented ourselves with about 

 a dozen extreme varieties, and one egg of the Pochard — the only 

 Scotch egg Harvie-Brown had ever taken with his own hands. 



During a visit paid to Loch Spynie in 1891 we made some 

 inquiries about the fish there. 



Eels are abundant, and in warm summer weather come up to 

 the surface, when they used to be caught by the keeper in his punt 

 with a salmon-hook fastened to the end of a stick and the barb 

 filed off. 



Pike are dying out, and now only small ones of herring size 

 are to be seen. 



Trout were introduced, but died out ; the loch is too shallow, 

 and they were found dead after a hot, dry summer. 



Perch and Eoach were also introduced about 1886 or 1887, and 

 the spawn of either one or the other was found this year (1891), 

 and in 1893 Perch became numerous, and reached the weight of 

 over 1 lb. 



On another occasion in 1892 we had an opportunity — thanks 

 to Dr. Gordon — of extending our personal knowledge of the 

 area around or near to Loch Spynie. We drove down from 

 Elgin first to Pitgaveny, and then on along the road which 

 follows the margin of the old drained Loch of Spynie, past Duffus 

 to Lossiemouth. At Briggs Earm are fine examples of raised 

 ridges of old gravel beach rolled in evidently from north-eastward, 

 and now several miles inland ; an extensive ' midden ' of oyster, 

 cockle, periwinkle, and other edible mollusc shells may also be traced. 

 We could easily see the extensive area at one time covered by the 

 sea and Loch Spynie, and the deep trench made by the proprietors 

 in order to drain it. What is now poor and rather sour soil would 

 have made, probably, a splendid oyster-bed, and at least the 

 naturalist may deplore that such a splendid sheet of water was 

 destroyed. 



We visited also Lochnabo (May 13th, 1885) — a lovely loch, 

 embosomed amongst fine woods of considerable size, about three 



