94 
Vol. XI 
THE PASSINCx OF THE PEDRO ISLAND SEA-BIRD ROOKERY 
By MILTON S. RAY 
WITH TWO PHOTOS BY OLUF J. HKINEMANN 
W HILE the number of sea-birds which formerly made their summer home 
on the rocky island which forms the extremity of Pedro Point in San 
Mateo County, can not be compared to the great Farallone Island rook- 
eries, yet until recently various sea-birds nested here in quite large numbers, and 
many of the eggs of the California Murre displayed for sale in San Francisco 
markets were obtained from this source. 
It was with a view of learning what birds and what number of birds were 
nesting on Pedro that we started to journey down the coast on the morning of July 
12, 1908, in an open flat-car termed a passenger coach by the “Ocean Shore’’ man- 
PEDRO ISLAND AS SEEN FROM THE MAINLAND 
agement. Our party consisted of H. A. Snow, Oluf Heinemann, and the writer. 
On leaving the train we walked along the beach to where the point juts out from 
the mainland. Here we found a number of deep and rather broad sea-channels 
which separate Pedro Island from the mainland and precluded our reaching it. 
From the shore we observed a few sea-birds flying about the lofty and precipitous 
rocks. 
Returning to town we engaged a crab-fisherman to take us out in his boat to 
the island. He informed us that in previous years he had easily collected as many 
as thirty dozen murre eggs on a trip, but of late the birds had become scarce owing 
to the continual blasting by the Ocean Shore Railroad Company in its construction 
work on the opposite mainland near the point. In fact he added that he had made 
a trip a few weeks before and had found but half a dozen eggs of the murre. After 
