EDENMOUTH AND THE LOWER TAY. xli 



those who may become responsible for their treatment. Such, at 

 all events, has been the uniform plan upon which Buckley and my- 

 self have worked so far as we could, in order to preserve a certain 

 uniformity in our treatment in a complete series — and as far as 

 possible to have the uniformity almost *' like a regiment of soldiers 

 in line, even to the buttons on their coats." Any divergence from 

 this rule would only have confused certain final conclusions which 

 we foresaw might arise in a wider analysis or final study of the 

 whole series, whether we should be able to accomplish that end our- 

 selves, or have to leave that to be done by some later historian of 

 our Scottish fauna. 



EDENMOUTH AND THE LOWER TAY 



The great wealth of bird-life at Edenmouth and off the shores 

 of the sandy stretch of the Tents Muir north of the Eden, again bids 

 fair to be a cheerful sight to the wandering ornithologist, notwith- 

 standing the persecution they receive at the hands of the punt- 

 shooters and "shore-poppers" of Dundee and St. Andrews. The 

 land, too, was also severely raided in the nesting season by bands 

 of bird-nesting boys who came across from the opposite side of Tay, 

 and took all the eggs they could find upon the Tents Muir and 

 shore-line. This has been greatly checked, and indeed almost 

 entirely stopped, by the rigid supervision which followed the passing 

 of the Bird Preservation Acts over the carefully defined area for 

 which protection was drawn up for the County Council by Mr. 

 William Berry in the initiatory working of the Acts soon after their 

 first adoption. Great results have been achieved, and in similar 

 cases there can be little doubt that the careful preservation of defined 

 tracts of famous breeding quarters of colonies of our birds like those 

 on Tents Muir is more likely to prove generally successful than in- 

 discriminate application of the Acts to more extensive areas. It has 

 been proved so in the past, and will again be proved to be the better 

 plan in the future if adopted. This plan means results from the indi- 

 vidual knowledge of such men as Mr. Berry who are in the best posi- 

 tion to judge of local requirements. Not only are innumerable birds 

 again nesting on this ground, but the results afford direct and great 

 additions to the winter fauna ; and something like a return to the 



