85 
1874, 
Mar, 12, 
Tringa niartina. 
Twonty-four received from Grand Monan; very fat; 
stomachs filled v/ith fragments of a pint crustacean; 
plumage far thicker than that of other v/aders; flesh 
less rank in smell. 
1876. 
Apr, 12. 
On one of the larger ledges in Mace’s Bay near 
Point LopreauXjN.B, vre found an irtwense flock of PurJ)l6 
Sandpipers, Letting the boat drift within ten yards of 
thorn v/e watched them for a long time as they fed in per¬ 
fect unconcern. At length vre shot into them and 
killed fifteen with three barrels. At the report the 
scattered bunches on the rocks around collected together 
into a flock of at least three hundr ed. Their flight 
was exceedingly rapid and very like that of the Sandling. 
On the vring they uttered a short quet, quet^ vrhile feed- 
ing, a lovr conversational twittering. Their movements 
were slow and they held their head and bill in very 
much the same position as the Sandling. In fact they 
reminded me most strongly of that bird. As the tide 
rose they collected on the higher rocks in perfect masses. 
Thomasj the Light—keeper, tells me that they are much 
more numerous in winter than now; he rarely sees them 
any v/here except on this isolated reef of rock. 
« 15. 
A small flock passed the end of the Point (Pt.Le- 
preaux,N.B, ). 
“ 19. 
A flock of about fifty on the ledges in Mace’s Bay, 
all so shy that it was impossible to get v/ithin gun shot 
(Pt.LeproauXjN.B.). 
1881. 
Jan. 3. 
Visited Pig Rocks off Sv^amscott to look for Purple 
Sandpipers. These rocks lie about a mile from shore 
in the open ocean. W.qu wo reached them the tide as 
nearly at flood and vre found only tvro exp.es.ed-obloB- 
oblong rocks exposed, about one hundred yards apart, 
and of nearly uniform size and shape. Their sides 
rose nearly vertically from the water to a height of 
perhaps fifteen feet and their flat tops v/'ero covered 
with snov/. Each was approximately tvy-enty yards long 
by ten yards in width. At low tide they are surroun¬ 
ded by a considerable expanse of lodges, covered with a 
slippery coating of seav/eed which I could see under vra— 
ter, and on the topd of the higher rocks when these emerg¬ 
ed for an instant in the rolling swells. On the first 
rock we found nothing but a Black-backed Gull, standing 
erect on its snov;-eapped summit boldly outlined against 
the sky. As vre approached the outer or eastern island 
however, I discovered a number of Purple Sandpipers hud¬ 
dled together on its nearly vertical sides where they 
vrere well sheltered from the cold wind. My boatman 
remarked that he should have mistaken them for English 
Sparrows and they clung to the surface very much as th^e 
birds cluster on the sunny slope of a roof on a blusterirg 
day,- Occasiona,lly one vrould stretch his wings above 
