AiteiL 24, 1890.] 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



267 



it is your aim to keep him away from it. Once there it- 

 is very difficult to move him, and your effort often results 

 in your losing both your hook and line. I lost some two 

 or three hooks in the course of this hour's fishing. This 

 fish appeared to be prized over many others in these 

 waters as a table fish, and the caterer of the hotel was on 

 hand to take all I had: its flesh is very firm and flaky 

 and the flavor good. The following was the day's catch: 

 Five grouper, five sea trout, three redfish (channel bass); 

 total weight 571bs. 



Saturday, March S. — The catch of to-day was respect- 

 able in numbers, but none of them were very heavy: it 

 was as follows: 6 redfish, 9 sea trout, 2 cavalli or jack- 

 fish, 1 ravallia or snook; total weight, 421bs. 



The cavalli, though small, fight bravely and give much 

 sport; he is a very handsome fish, and presented a beau- 

 tiful appearance when his shiny sides were reflected by 

 the sunlight; as k the fisherman was taking out the hook it 

 gave utterance to a croaking sound, resembling that made 

 by the sea toadfish of our Northern waters. .Some of 

 these fish, I was told, run up to lOlbs., but I did not take 

 any of that weight. This fish is sometimes called the 

 horse-eyed cavalli from its large eyes. The ravallia proved 

 a very gamy fish, although the specimen I captured was 

 of moderate size. A marked feature of it was the very 

 well defined dark line that runs the length of each side. 

 The heaviest redfish of to-day weighed 5|lbs. 



Sunday, March 9. — The wind came in from the north 

 yesterday afternoon, giving us what is called in this sec- 

 tion a "norther," and causing a sudden fall in tempera- 

 ture, rendering overcoats very desirable, and no one could 

 sit on the piazza, as is our habit ; fires, too, were necessary 

 in the sitting-room and small hall, and the hopes of the 

 tarpon fishermen were suddenly lowered by this depres- 

 sion in the temperature, as the cold spell would be likely 

 to drive their favorite fish out of the bay and into deeper 

 . and warmer water. As many have been waiting since 

 early in January for a strike, there is good ground for 

 this depressed feeling. The number of tarpon taken in 

 these waters since the opening of the season, say last of 

 December, has been about 18, none since the 24th of Feb- 

 ruary. 



Monday, March 10. — This morning we took another 

 direction, and in place of fishing in the Matlichett, which 

 is usually regarded as the best bass ground and lies north- 

 easterly from the hotel, we took a northwesterly direc- 

 tion and tried what my guide called the Keyachina — I 

 spell it as he pronounced it— but with very moderate 

 success. The waters had been rendered muddy by the 

 blow of the day before, and hence the bait was not read- 

 ily seen. We found a few trout along the shores of some 

 of the keys, and landing on one of the very tiniest of 

 these pretty islands, found several nests of the blue heron; 

 from one we took three fresh eggs of a delicate blue color 

 and about as large as a good-sized hen's egg; from 

 another nest we took two half grown blue herons: they 

 fought bravely, but were at last captured and became the 



f>rize of the boatman, who is bringing them up. We 

 unched from our boat and under the shade of the red 

 mangrove trees, which grew just on the edge of a very 

 pretty key. The mangrove trees form the chief wood of 

 most of the keys, and the manner in which these shoots 

 take root is peculiar. Long arms, as it were, reaching 

 out from branches that overhang the water, and t Top- 

 ping in a curved form fasten themselves, or are seized 

 upon by masses of oysters and thus form the beginning 

 of newroots; it is Only the red mangrove that fastens 

 itself in this way. But a little way back from the 

 water's edge you have the black mangrove. The wood of 

 both these trees is very hard and durable, and makes ex- 

 cellent fuel. The catch of to-day is very small: Seven 

 sea trout, one Spanish mackerel; total 'weight 141bs.; 

 heaviest trout, 41bs. 



Tuesday, March 11. — Had a late start this morning, 

 many things conspiring to that end. However, we did 

 get away at last, and after some perseverance struck 

 quite a number of trout and bass near Point Blanco, so 

 that by lunch time we had secured a respectable number 

 of good-sized fish, the trout running heavier than any 

 yet taken. After luncheon we tried the grouper hole 

 and t<*pk out two good-sized fellows, and lost two or three 

 others from their taking to their holes. Following is the 

 list of fish taken, with their total weight: 2 groupers, 4 

 redfish (channel bass), 14 sea trout, 2 cavalli and 1 raval- 

 lia, total weight 641bs.; heaviest grouper 91bs,, redfish 

 4lbs. and sea trout 41bs. 



Wednesday, March 12. — I was again among the late 

 starters and did not get away before 9 A.M. The tarpon 

 fishermen were, however, off at a very early hour, hav- 

 ing been stimulated by one that was caught the day pre- 

 vious, Mr. Fisher, of Pennsylvania, being the lucky man. 

 As this was the first tarpon taken in about two weeks, 

 the captor was quite a Hon for that evening, but I can 

 testify to his having borne his honors most modestly. 

 The event, however, created a sensation and much specu- 

 lation as to the prospects for the morrow, in truth the 

 atmosphere about the San Carlos seemed almost blue 

 with fish talk. This flurry was added to by the arrival 

 of new guests, ail of whom were on the alert for the 

 smallest item concerning the capture of the silver king. 

 As for myself I decided to stick to my first love, the smal- 

 ler fish, and as usual started out with tackle for that class 

 only. The sailing skiff that we should have had yester- 

 day was ready with new ropes this morning, and the wind 

 being favorable we sailed over to San Ybel Island and 

 fished about the numerous creeks that enter it from the 

 east, having exceedingly good sport as well as good luck. 

 The catch of to-day was as follows: 12 redfish, weight 

 721bs.; 13 sea trout and 2 jackfish, 371bs.; total weight 

 1091bs. ; heaviest bass 91bs. 



This was my best day's work, as also the most agree- 

 able one from the fact that the greater share of the catch 

 were redfish, and here I wish to add a word of praise for 

 this gamy and most presentable fish, which retains in a 

 remarkable degree its shape as also the handsome bronze 

 color of its upper scales, and the milk white of the 

 under parts, so that I landed my twelve handsome ones 

 pn the platform, after almost an entire day in the sun, 

 with a feeling of no little pride. This fish can be recog- 

 nized from the fact that it always has at least one black 

 and irregularly shaped mark near the flukes, and some- 

 times more; one large specimen that I caught to-day had 

 ten of these spots on one side and five on the opposite. 

 He was an anomaly even to my boatman, who had fished 

 iooany years in the "waters without having seen a similar 

 ase. 



We lunched to-day from our boat and under the 



friendly shade of the red mangroves, the branches of 

 which extended over the water. There were schools of 

 mullet all about us, and the porpoises were having a 

 glorious time among them, and in their rushes after 

 their prey, dashed the water about and churned it into 

 foaming whiteness; in one or two instances I saw them 

 by the aid of their snout and head throw the mullet at 

 least 15ft. in the air and catch the fish in their open mouth 

 as it descended. This may sound to the northern fisher- 

 man very much like a "fish story," but it can be verified 

 by hosts of fishermen from this section. 



Thursday, March 18.— Our start was earlier this morn- 

 ing than the day before, chiefly that I might see the two 

 tarpon that had been brought in the night before: for I 

 wished to examine them pretty thoroughly before they 

 had gotten into the hands of Captain Smith, who is skill- 

 ful in preparing them for the taxidermist They were 

 not very heavy fish, but were handsome specimens, and 

 were taken respectively by Messrs. Deforest and Mid- 

 dleton. It was the latter's first fish. He told me it took 

 one and a half hours to kill it, and that the strain was so 

 great that he was compelled to ask his companion to 

 relieve him, Ms arm becoming almost paralyzed from 

 holding the rod. Water had to be poured upon the reel 

 to keep it from heating, and the brake of cowhide, that 

 was used to check the running out of the line, was par- 

 tially cut through. These items will give one some idea 

 of the strain that the fisherman is subject to that captures 

 one of these splendid and gamy fellows with rod and 

 reel. 



I fished to-day along the keys to the northwest of St. 

 James and had fairly good success. Total weight of 

 catch, 511b3.; heaviest redfish, 16£lbs. But the great 

 event was the few moments I was fast to a tarpon, he 

 having seized the bait while I was trolling. The line 

 went out with lightning speed, and in my attempts to 

 check the reel I had my thumbs blistered. He made but 

 a single leap in the air, and when he came down the 

 strain upon the line was so great that it broke some dis- 

 tance above the hook. I fancied at first that I had a very 

 large-sized bass, but as both the guide and I saw the fish 

 there can be no doubt of its being a tarpon. I believe 

 it is unusual for this fish to take the bait while trolling. 



James G. Deforest, of New York city, was one of the 

 fortunate ones yesterday, and was rewarded, after fish- 

 ing for three seasons in these waters, by taking a hand- 

 somely shaped specimen weighing a little more than 

 lOOlbs. He was timed by a friend fishing in an adjoin- 

 ing " tarpon hole," who reports that the fish was killed in 

 28 minutes. It was turned over to Captain Smith, who 

 prepares most of the specimens taken hereabouts, 

 although he does not set them up, and I've no doubt in 

 time it will adorn the hall of Mr. D.'s country home at 

 Babylon, Long Island. 



Friday, March 14.— To-day I followed the advice of 

 some friends, going some eight miles away from the hotel 

 in a northeastlerly direction, and along the borders of 

 Brigbt's Key, near the "Eight Mile Rookery," where I 

 had excellent sport, but not a great deal of time, as the 

 distance was great, and the wind light, so that I consumed 

 a good deal of time going and "returning; but I regard 

 this as about the best bass fishing point in this vicinity, 

 although there are some places where with favorable 

 weather you can take heavy fish. Mr. Moore, of Minne- 

 sota, told me he had taken at a point nearer the hotel, 

 and in the course of an afternoon's fishing, twenty-eight 

 redfish, whose combined weight was 2001bs. This was 

 the best catch that I heard of. The catch of to-day was 

 thirteen redfish and seven sea trout; total weight 821bs.: 

 heaviest redfish 121bs. 



This completes the record of my seven days' fishing 

 about Pine Island, during which time I took in all 4191bs. 

 of edible fish, which is the best catch I have ever made 

 with rod and reel. DeL. F.-J. 



BIRDS OF GULL ISLAND, N. Y. 



[Read before the Linnean Society of New York, March 21, 1890.1 

 {Concluded from Page M7.~] 



8. (120)* Phalacrocorax dilophns— Double crested Cor- 

 morant. — Two cormorants were seen. The first one flew 

 quite near to the lighthouse on the 12th inst. , and one 

 was seen again about the same place on the 15th. It was 

 undoubtedly a "pensioner" that had been compelled to 

 remain so far south during the summer months by reason 

 of wounds received in the spring. The use of the word 

 "pensioner" is a localism, meaning any bird that is com- 

 pelled to remain on Long Island out of season because of 

 wounds which prevented migration. 



9. (202) Nycticorax nycticorax ncevius — Black-crowned 

 Night Heron. — On the 8th one was seen near the island. 

 At daylight on the 15th three were seen standing in one 

 of the pools on the island where they had probably been 

 fishing all night. The nearest roost from which they 

 could have come was on Gardiner's Island, which was 

 some four miles distant. 



10. (263) Actitis macidaria— Spotted Sandpiper. — These 

 sandpipers were seen daily on both the islands. They 

 bred on Great Gull and commonly came to feed about 

 the shores of the smaller island. Mr. Field's note book 

 reported their arrival at the islands April 24, when one 

 was seen; and two days later a pah - were seen. By May 7 

 they had become common. On June 21 he saw two 

 broods of young only a few horns old on Great G41II. On 

 July 13 we found a brood of young not able to fly, and 

 another brood able to fly but a short distance. 



11. (364) Pandion haliaetus caroliaensis — American 

 Osprey.— One was seen on the 8th. On the 12th one 

 undertook to fly over Great Gull Island, and caused great 

 excitement among the colony of terns. They fairly 

 mobbed the osprey and drove him from the locality. On 

 Little Gull the Government has removed the rocks on the 

 west side of the island, making a basin in which to keep 

 small boats. At high water the depth is not more than 

 3ft. , yet from this shoal pool an osprey took a fish while 

 we were standing near the base of the light tower only a 

 few yards away. 



12. " (367) Asio accipitrinus — Short-eared Owl. — On the 

 16th, while on Great Gull, we noticed that something 

 more attractive to the terns than ourselves was occupying 

 their attention, as they hardly noticed us. Their persist- 



* The numbers in ( ) are those of the A. O. U, Check List. 



ent attention finally caused their visitor to fly, but it was 

 only for a short distance, when it had to drop to the grass 

 again, when it was again flushed, this time by Mr. Field; 

 it was secured. Great Gull Island would be a paradise 

 for any mouse-loving owl or hawk, if it were not for the 

 terns, who certainly act as if they were the sole owners 

 of the domain. 



13. (428) Trocliilas colubris— Ruby-throated Humming- 

 bird.— On the 12th instant, while we were on the Sound, 

 about half a mile from Little Gull, a hummingbird flew 

 over our boat bound west. The Connecticut shore was at 

 least seven and a half miles north of us and Fisher's 

 Island about three miles east of where the bird was seen. 

 Later in the day, when Mr. Chapman was lying in the 

 shade of some bushes on Great Gull, a $ or young 3 

 hummer lit just over his head. It was probably the same 

 bird that we saw in the earlier part of the day. 



14. (444) Tyrannus tyrannus— Kingbird. — During the 

 morning of the loth inst. an adult 2 of this species flut- 

 tered against the kitchen window of the light keepers 

 house. It did not seem inclined to leave the island when 

 we appeared outside the door, but flew to the roof , when 

 it was secured. 



15. (467) Empidonao; minimus —Least Flycatcher. — On 

 the 12th I flushed from the swampy spot on Great Gull 

 Island a pair of birds, which I secured and which proved 

 to be an adult male and female of this species. They, 

 together with the preceding record, were undoubtedly 

 migrating birds, thus affording a scintilla of evidence 

 that the flycatchers are among the earliest returning mi- 

 grants, and also that the adult birds precede the young. 



16. (498) Agelaius phceniceus— Red-winged Blackbird. 

 — A pair of these birds had bred in the swamp referred 

 to in the preceding note, and at the time of our first 

 visit were still on the island with their offspring. Part 

 of the family were secured, when the balance deserted 

 the locality. During the night of the 12th one stopped 

 at the fight and remained part of the following day, 

 when it continued its southward journey. 



17. (581) Melospiza fasciata — Song Sparrow. — Quite a 

 number of these sparrows bred on Great Gull Island. 

 Considering the area of the island they could be considered 

 common. 



18. (613) CheUdon erythrogaster— Barn Swallow. —Was 

 only seen on one occasion, the 9th inst., when quite a 

 flight of them took place. 



19. (614) Tachycineta bicolor— Tree Swallow.— These 

 swallows were migrating with the preceding species on 

 July 9. Both species were migrating westward over the 

 chain of islands toward Long Island proper. On the 11th 

 a few were noted, but none after that date. 



20. (616) Glivicola riparia— Bank Swallow. — There was 

 quite a numerous colony of these swallows breeding in a 

 high bank on the south side of Great Gull Island. They 

 were about through with their domestic duties for the 

 year, as many holes were found to have been used this 

 season, but were then deserted. Two sets of eggs were 

 found on July 12, but had such very large embryos in 

 them that they could not be saved. The hard easterly 

 storm of the 15th inst. seemed to start the larger part of 

 the colony on its migratory way, for on the following 

 day, when we visited the island, but very few were seen. 



While we were at the lighthouse the' weather on two 

 occasions became foggy: on the 11th for a short time 

 during the day and night and on the 13th, about 9 P. M., 

 it shut down very thickly. There being no migration 

 going on we did not have an opportunity of observing 

 the action of the birds about the light. We did, however, 

 see a pair of terns fly around the lantern a number of 

 times, but they showed no inclination to approach near 

 enough to it to harm themselves. It was a very beauti- 

 ful sight to see them flying in the strong rays of the 

 light, the combination of the light and fog giving them 

 a silvery appearance. On three nights birds were heard 

 "chipping" while passing over, but none were seen, nor 

 did any strike the light tower. 



Just' at sundown on the 14th a domesticated pigeon of 

 some variety passed the light bound west. It looked like 

 a bluerock, although it might have been a carrier. 



Attention is called to the following facts as showing 

 that the southward wave of migration for the season of 

 1889 had just commenced to roll on its way: 



First — Hearing birds passing over the light on three 

 nights. 



Second — The westward (which on Long Island is equiv- 

 alent to southward in other localities) flight of the ruby- 

 throated hummingbird, kingbird, least flycatchers, the 

 red-winged blackbird which stopped at the lighthouse on 

 the 13th, the barn and tree swallows. 



Third — The departure of most of the colony of bank 

 swallows after the storm of the 15th of July. 



The number of species seen during the nine days spent 

 at the islands was only twenty. This seems but a small 

 number, it is true, but it must be taken into considera- 

 tion that our field was very limited and the season not 

 the best in which to make observations. The trip was 

 made, as before stated, for a specific purpose, which in 

 part failed, therefore our notes are not as interesting or 

 as extended as we had hoped to have made them. The 

 birds seen may be divided as follows: 



Summer residents, breeding.— Common tern, roseate 

 tern, spotted sandpiper, red-winged blackbird, song spar- 

 row, bank swallow. 



Migrants. — Short- eared owl ('?), ruby-throated humming- 

 bird, kingbird, least flycatcher, red-winged blackbird, 

 barn swallow, tree swallow. 



Stragglers (from other localities in search of food , or 

 by stress of circumstances). — Jaegers (two species proba- 

 bly), American herring gull, Bonaparte's gull, black tern, 

 double-crested cormorant, black-crowned night heron, 

 American osprey. 



Our trip was an exceedingly pleasant one, for which 

 we were in a large degree indebted to the kindness of the 

 light keeper, Mr. Chas. B. Field, and his wife, to whom 

 our thanks are due. Wm. Dtjtcher. 



An Earia Bird.— Indian Rock, April 12.— Editor 

 Forest and Str eam: A blue heron put in an appearance 

 here the 8th inst. His prospect for food must be slim. 

 Only one stream is clear of ice. and that is running 

 water. His only chance is at the outlet of Kennebago 

 Lake, ten or twelve miles north of this place. There are 

 2ft. of ice on the lakes, and it is rather cool for April. I 

 think the fishing season will not open as early as last 

 season.— C. T. Richardson. 



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