250 



Yorkshire Naturalists at Lo/tus. 



Of the larg-er boulders on the beach by far the most numerous 

 were the Basalts, and among the smaller foreign pebbles the 

 Porphyrites of the Cheviot and South Scottish types were 

 decidedly in the ascendant. Four boulders of Shap Granite 

 were noticed and two pebbles of Rhomb-porphyry occurred in 

 Hummersea Bay. On the other hand, the Carboniferous rocks, 

 which figure so largely among the boulders on the coast further 

 to the south, were here remarkably few and far between. 



For Vertebrate Zoology Mr. K. MacLean reports : — During 

 the greater part of the day the heat was so intense a great many 

 birds hid themselves away in the shady nooks and corners, but 

 those of us who were able to get about during the early morning 

 and in the evening had better opportunities of observing bird 

 life. 



A noticeable and interesting feature of the excursion was the 

 number of young birds flying with their parents. Nearly all the 

 Willow Wrens were found in parties of from seven to ten. The 

 Flycatchers, Wagtails, Tits, and Goldcrests were also seen in 

 families, and a pair of Jays with their young ones 'just out' 

 were seen sporting themselves amongst the trees in the Kilton 

 Woods.' It is to be hoped their days will not be shortened by 

 the leaden hail v^^hich proves so fatal to the bulk of their family. 

 May the keepers be merciful and leave us poor naturalists a few 

 specimens of interest and beauty. 



We also saw a fine family of Kestrels which had evidently 

 just come out of the cliffs. There were five fine young birds, 

 and the parents were hovering round, watching with pride their 

 beautiful children in their gyratory flight. 



Several Curlews had already left their moorland homes, and 

 were seen amongst the weed-clad rocks at low tide. Many 

 Black-headed Gulls were also there feeding amongst the Herring 

 Gulls. . ^ 



Cormorants were frequently seen popping out of the water, 

 and as suddenly disappearing in their submarine excursions in 

 pursuit of their scaly prey. 



A Diver was also observed. It was too far off", however, to 

 ascertain to what species it belonged ; but it was probably an 

 immature specimen of the Red-throated Diver [Colymbus septen- 

 trionalis). Almost double the number of birds we generally see 

 on these excursions was observed during the three days, and if 

 we had had time to visit the moors in the immediate neighbour- 

 hood, no doubt we should have added largely to the list. 



Naturalist, 



