1(>4 
Vol. XIII 
AN EARLY SPRING TRIP TO ANACAPA ISLAND 
liy IIOISIIvK C. BURT 
WITH ONK PHOTO 
W ITH a week’s suppl\- of provisions on board, tlie writer, in company witli 
Mr. Sidney Peyton, brotlier of a fellow' Club member, and Mr. Walter 
Harrison, left \’entura harbor Tuesday morning, March 14 of this season 
(1911) on the launch “Ana Ca])a’’, ow'iied b>- Mr. Ray Webster of \Tntura. Our 
idans were to spend a few days on Anacapa Island that we might get better ac- 
quainted with the .several pairs of Bald Eagles ( Haliicctiis Icucoccphahis) that make 
the island their home. We had planned on getting away earlier in the month but 
owdng to the long siege of rain and stormy w'eather we have had this spring, Mr. 
WTbster was unable to bring the launch up from San Pedro w'here it had been in 
anchorage for the winter. 
The day w'as fine and we had a very jileasant trip across the channel, making 
the run to the harlior in a little over three hours. After landing our provisions 
and blankets on the beach we all got busy making things comfortalile in the little 
shant\- u]i under the cliffs, which Mr. Webster kindh- gave us the use of during 
our sta>' on the island. A good dinner w'as soon fixed up for us by “George” the 
boat’s engineer, w'ho proved to lie ipiite a chef; and we afterward enjoyed more 
than one fish and mutton dinner fixed up b\- him and Mrs. Webster, w'ho came 
over two days later to sta\' until the shee]! shearing was over. 
The tide being low, Peyton and myself decided to spend the afternoon explor- 
ing the south side of the west island, while the rest of the party w'ere going iqi on 
top to see how' the band of sheep had fared for the past several months. We suc- 
ceeded in working our way well around the island, a feat which can onlv be done 
at low tide, owing to the high cliffs towering aliove one all the way around. Cor- 
morants and Western Gulls ( Iranis occidentalism were common flying about or sit- 
ting' on the rocks off the .shore. A pair of Black 0>’ster-catchers ( Hacmatopus 
hachinani) were flushed from a mussel bed on the rocks, but were too wary to al- 
low us to get within gun-shot. We also flushed a Wandering Tattler { Hetcractitis 
iucauus) from among the rocks, which was knocked down by Peyton. Another 
Tattler was taken later near the same .s]iot, both birds being males. There was 
much to intere.st one on all sides, so the afternoon iiuickly passed, and it was get- 
ting late when we got back to camp. 
The other party arrived soon afterwards with good news which jnit us all in 
high spirits. They had located an eagle’s nest on one of the high cliffs of the 
north side of the west island, with the old bird on the nest, so things certainly 
looked promising for the morrow. 
We were up bright and earl\' the next morning, Wedne.sday, and, loading our- 
selves with camera, shot-gun, lunch, and 1,10 feet of rope, we started up over the 
rough trail for the nesting site. Traveling was comparatively ea.sy after reaching 
the top of the island, where there was a surprisingly heavy growth of clover and 
fox-tail grass, making a delightful home for the Island Horned Larks ( Otocoris a. 
hisu tan's ) and Meadow-larks ( Sfanietta ncgtccta ) which were common on all 
sides. No time was lost in reaching the top of the cliff above the ne.st, which 
turned out to be on one of the highest cliffs of the island. 
It would have been impossible to pick out a wilder or more commanding site 
than the one selected liy this pair of birds. One hundred and forty feet down from 
