34 THE AUDUBON BULLETIN 
Naturally, the grouping of birds varies with time, tide, wind, and 
weather. For example, in the early morning I may find a hundred or 
more Glaucous-winged Gulls at rest on the grass of the golf course some 
distance back from the shore; or, again, several Short-billed Gulls on the 
shore at the south end of the beach. 
When the sun rises over the fairly steep slope which is the site of 
the town of Carmel, it lights up first of all the rocky points at either end 
of Carmel Bay. On the rocks to the north Western Gulls are wont to 
perch. ‘The Western retains in winter its pure white plumage of neck and 
breast and has a dark slaty mantle. When the white expanse of its 
breast is lighted by the rays of the rising sun, this gull assumes propor- 
tions truly magnificent! 
Leaving the beach at the north end and climbing up to the top 
of the cliff, one finds oneself on a high plateau. ‘his is the Pebble Beach 
Golf Course. From there one can look down over the edge into a fairly 
sizable cove with an island in its center commonly peopled with cor- 
morants and gulls. “This cove with its rocky promontory, resounding 
breakers, and precipitous cliffs, I may say, once assumed titanic propor- 
tions as I timorously peered over the edge. But today, due to familiarity, 
it has shrunk almost into ignominy. In these environs the following rock 
birds are found: Spotted Sandpiper, Black Turnstone, Black Oyster- 
catcher. ‘To the Mid-westerner it may seem rather singular to find the 
humble sandpiper in such exotic company. Black Turnstones are often 
seen here in numbers. “hey are not exclusively rock birds but appear to 
follow the kelp wherever it is strewn. ‘The striking black and white 
pattern of the wings and back in flight, and the sudden disappearance of 
the bird when it folds its wings, are indeed spectacular. No less sur- 
prising is that lethargic looking animal, the Black Ovyster-catcher, with 
its flesh-colored legs, red evelids and bright red bill. One might suspect 
that it had escaped from some neighboring zoo. 
‘The cove described above and Stillwater Cove just beyond are won- 
derful places for observation. A friend, who taught me what I know 
about gulls, has a small telescope with tripod which we set up on the 
cliff to watch the loons, grebes, mergansers, etc. Here we had a good 
view of the yellow iris of the Golden-eye. Here we also saw the Ancient 
Murrelet. It is one of the most difficult birds to study, since it has a 
habit of diving and reappearing at the most unexpected places. Not at 
all like the Pigeon Guillemots that I saw last summer at Point Lobos, 
which floated around in the seething waves, every now and then flying up 
to perch on the ledge of a cliff. 
To return to the rock birds, the Wandering Tattler I frequently 
found this summer, either standing alone on a rock or feeding with the 
turnstones on the pebbled beach of the cove. With its habit of tilting it 
might be mistaken for a Spotted Sandpiper but its absence of flight marks 
makes it readily distinguishable from either the Spotted Sandpiper or the 
