ORNITHOLOGIST 



—AND- 



OOLOGIST. 



■'l-O" per PUBLISHED BY FRANK B. AVEBSTER. Single Copy 



Annum. Established, March, 187.5. lO cents. 



Vol- XV. BOSTON, MASS., APRIL, 1890. No. 4. 



The Shore Bird Migration at Mono- 

 moy Island, Cape Cod, Mass., 

 Summer of 1888. 



No notes were taken between May 27tb and 

 June 8tli, as I was away from the Island 

 during tliat period. June 8, 1888, wind north- 

 east to nortli, fresli. .Saw one small llock of 

 Black-bellied Plover on the flats, and one 

 Greater Yellow-legs on the meadow. Large 

 Gulls, (mostly Herring) much decreased. 

 Water fowl seen were tliree Sheldrakes. Night 

 Heroii.s increasing on the meadows. 



June 9th, wind northeii.st to southwest, 

 fresh in the afternoon. No shore birds seen. 



June 12th, wind northwest to north, fresh; 

 weather, fair. A bunch of six Great North- 

 ern Divers seen out in the bay, and six liich- 

 ardson's Jaegers passed over the island. 

 Red-winged Blackbirds, Sharp-tailed Finches, 

 and Savannah Sparrows breeding at this date. 



June 18th. wind southwest, moderately fresh ; 

 weather fair. One flock of about twenty 

 Black-bellied Plover passed over the island 

 high up in the air. 



June 14th, wind south, moderately fresh, 

 with rain in the afternoon. Found Least 

 Terns common on their breeding ground on 

 the high beach, but found none nesting. 

 Found two nests of Piping 1 'lover, one with 

 four eggs, and the other with one. Saw sev. 

 eral Scoters Hying down the beach outside of 

 the breakers. 



June l.ith, wind south to southwest, moder- 

 ate, with light rain and fog. Took a long 

 tramp out over the flats but saw no shore birds. 

 Saw one flock of seven Sheldrakes tiying about 

 out in the bay. 



June Kith, wind all ways, moderate; weather 

 fair. One Greater Yellow-legs the only shore 

 bird seen. Saw six Great Nortliern Divers out 

 in the bay. 



June 18th, wind southwest, fresh ; weather 



fair. Large Gulls tolerably common. A few 

 Sheldrakes remain. 



June 19th, wind northeast, fresh; weather 

 fair. One tlock of Sheldrakes noticed. Night 

 Herons abundant on the salt meadows. 



June 20th, wind southwest in forenoon, fresh, 

 northeast in afternoon, becoming calm. No 

 water birds seen excepting Night Herons. 



June 2l8t, wind southeast, fresh with thick 

 fog. Only .shore birds seen were several Spot- 

 ted Sandpipers. 



June 22d, wind southwest, fresh, with fog 

 most of the day. Went up on to the high 

 beach. Found Least Tern nesting. A nest 

 with one egg found, and saw several fisher- 

 men that had collected several seta. Not a 

 day passes in the summer that the fishermen 

 about this island do not patrol the beach in 

 search of the Tern's and Piping Plover's eggs. 

 The birds have no chance to breed. When 

 1 first visited the island about six years ago 

 there were several hundi'ed pairs of Least 

 Tern breeding, but they have now become 

 reduced to less than twenty-five pair. Several 

 Scoters seen flying about on the outside. 

 Found I'iping Plover and Spotted Sandpipers 

 common at the Point. 



June 27th, wind northwest, fresh; weather 

 fair. A few Great Northern Divers still re- 

 main out in the bay. Some fifty or more 

 large Gulls are seen about the bars. Terns on 

 the increase. 



June 28th, wind northeast, fresh; weather 

 cloudy with rain after 4 P.M. Saw four Great 

 Northern Divers near the beach. Saw two 

 "cripples," a Semipalmated Plover and Sand- 

 piper in down, running about in the beach 

 grass. 



June 29th, wind northeast, fresh with light 

 rains. Visited the high beach and found sev- 

 eral sets of two eggs each of the Least Tern. 

 Large numbers of Roseate and Common Terns 

 seen flying along over the beach or fishing out- 

 side of the surf. La.rge Gulls decreasing. 



Copyright, 1890, by Fkank B. Webster. 



