<r & 
Ontario Notes. — Some time ago Gulls were said to breed regularly on 
the islands in Lake Ontario, but for fifteen or twenty years they have de¬ 
serted even such isolated spots as Pigeon Island, and it is doubtful if they 
breed at any point about the lake or its islands. They were said to breed 
commonly on islands in many of the inland lakes of the Province of On¬ 
tario, and Gull Lakes are to be found everywhere, with a tradition that 
gulls bred there in the past. One of the best known of these Gull Lakes is 
in Clarendon township, about eighty miles north of Kingston. It was said 
to have an island called Gull Rock on which some hundreds of birds bred. 
The Rev. C. J. Young and I determined to investigate the truth of this 
statement, and on May 30, 1901, succeeded in reaching the lake after a very 
rough and unpleasant trip, and discovered that Gull Rock may have fur¬ 
nished a foothold for one or two pairs of gulls many years ago, but no 
authentic record of gulls breeding at this spot during a period of twenty 
or twenty-five years existed. The rock is nothing but a granite boulder 
some ten or twelve feet across, and Gull Lake is remarkable chiefly for the 
absence of gulls. In a lonely little pond called Pine Lake we found two 
pairs of Herring Gulls (Larus argentatus ) breeding on small rocks (May 31). 
Their nests were carefully constructed of dried moss and grass, and in 
addition one had several pine cones imbedded in its walls. 
The first nest found was about two feet and a half from the water, and 
was placed in a hollow in the rock. It contained three eggs almost hatched. 
The second nest was almost on a level with the water, and contained but 
one egg, quite fresh. The birds were much annoyed at our intrusion and 
perched on pine trees while we were photographing the nest and examin¬ 
ing the surroundings. The fact that the egg in the second nest was fresh 
led us to suppose that a tragedy had overtaken the first nest, as a violent 
gale would certainly cause the sea to sweep the rock on which the birds 
had established themselves. It is more than probable that the Herring- 
Gulls breed on the islands in many of the lonely northern lakes of On¬ 
tario. jb, _____ 
, C (Vv-\ , k) 1 t V , (Q -*-rZSyiwe - 
Birds of Toronto, Ontario. 
By James H.Fleming. 
Pt.I, Water Birds. 
Auk, XXIII, Oct., 1906, p.442. 
16 . Larus argentatus. Herring Gull. — Common resident, abun¬ 
dant in spring and fall; does not breed here, but keeps up a regular com¬ 
munication with the lakes north of here, except in winter. 
5 ^^, cJcJM 
Vis**?y f 4 J h 
V&iJvvuk C. J-bJUl. CUJi^xiv,) 
t» V? - 
2. Lairus argentatus. Herring Gull. — Common on Lake Temis- 
kaming. ^We were told by a native that they breed on a small island 
at the upper end of the lake. Also observed on Cross Lake. 
