215
The Voyage Home.
1897.
Aug. 7-17.
  I came home on the "Southwark", the sister ship of the 
"Kensington", leaving Antwerp at 7 A.M. on the 7th and landing
in New York at 8 A.M. on the 17th. The weather was fine and
the sea reasonably smooth during the entire voyage. We had a
glorious day for our passage through the British Channel on
the 8th, and I saw many Gannets, Murres, Razor-bills and Puf-
fins, a few Cormorants, and swarms of Gulls. All of these
birds were left behind at a distance of less than two hundred
miles from the Irish coast but during the rest of the voyage
no day passed when one or more small Petrels were not sighted.
Shearwaters were also seen at intervals but never in any num-
bers. On the morning of the 14th as we were crossing the
Grand Banks, Fulmars were constantly in sight for upwards of
two hours. Indeed the ocean as far as the eye could reach in
every direction was dotted with them. They floated very
lightly on the water and at a distance looked very like Gulls
for which, in fact, most of our passengers mistook them. The
sea was very calm at the time and the birds were evidently
resting for only those which were disturbed by our steamer took
wing.
  On the morning of the 16th when we were some sixty miles
to the eastward of Nantucket Light-ship a Barn Swallow ap-
peared and followed us for two or three hours circling close