I920. 



Notes. 



'79 



Sanderlings obtained on Mig^ration from Slyne Head 

 Light-House. 



Though the Sanderhng is by no means a scarce coast-bird on migration, 

 it would seem that it is not given to striking the lantern of Irish light- 

 houses. This may be explained in part by its being overlooked or even 

 disposed of as a worthless " sand-lark " by lightkeepers. I do not, how- 

 ever, favour this view to any serious extent, as the keepers have sent me 

 quite a number of Dunlins, Purple Sandpipers, and Knots, which might 

 pass equally as worthless " sand-larks." Only one instance has been re- 

 corded by Barrington, namely that of a Sanderhng which was killed 

 striking the lantern of the Blackwater lightship, Co. Wexford, on August 

 30th, 1894 (■' Migration of Birds," Analysis of Reports, 1881-97, P- 216). 

 Since I started lighthouse migration- work in 191 1 I. have never had a 

 specimen which had struck the lantern sent me by a light-keeper ; and 

 not until September, 1918, did I obtain specimens personall}'-. On the 

 5th inst. of that year, at 12.30 p.m., I picked up a dead Sanderhng near the 

 foot of the lantern-tower of Slyne Head light-station, Co. Gal way. The 

 bird was perfectly fresh, and judging from head injuries and other evidence 

 it no doubt met its death through colliding with the lantern during the 

 previous night. The weather was then overcast, the night very dark, and 

 a strong east wind was blowing. At 11.30 a.m. on the 13th inst. of the 

 same month I discovered the body of another Sanderhng. It was lying 

 in a down-gutter leading from the roof of a water-tank, situated also close 

 to" the base of the lighthouse tower. This bird, though not decomposed, 

 was not quite fresh. Apparently it had been about a week or so dead. 

 I surmise that it was one of a party of Sanderlings, which probably passed 

 close by the lantern on the night of September 4th-5th, on which occasion, 

 as already indicated, one other was killed. The discovery of two specimens 

 consolidates the view that a wisp, say of twenty to fifty birds — as one 

 often sees flying over the sand-flats by day — passed close to the lantern, 

 out of which two were killed striking. Both birds were immature females. 

 They were in excellent plumage ; remarkably fat, but their gizzards were 

 empty. These facts, taken in conjunction with the fact that they had 

 sustained severe head-lesions, indicate that the birds were affecting a 

 regular and extensive migration rather than making a mere local move- 

 ment. 



C. J. Patten. 



University, Sheflield. 



Unusual Capture of a Seal. 



I write to record a very unusual occurrence, the capture of a seal on a 

 conger line. Last autumn Mr. H. Osborne, of Dardistown Castle, Co. 

 Meath, was at Greenore Railway Hotel. The lough was full of mackerel, 

 and the shoals were attended by numbers of dogfish, congers, pollocks, etc. 



