Norman Frederic Ticehurst

“ At night the flocks appeared to split up, the birds going off in twos and threes to the "parks." Round the margin of the loch they associated with the Green Plover, and to a smaller degree with the Gulls.
Lapwing (Vanellus vulgaris) .—Very common; they are never shot at, and are consequently very tame.
Ringed Plover (Ægialitis hiaticula) .—These delightful little birds were extremely numerous, and very tame. They were always to be seen feeding along the ebb in lots of a few individuals up to quite large flocks, very often associating with the Turnstones and Golden Plover. ”

“ In calm weather they were remarkably tame, allowing a near approach in the open, if one did not walk directly at them; but in a gale of wind they were much wilder and very uneasy, continually flying up and settling again at some other spot for apparently no reason at all. ”

“ The ground for the most part is low and undulating, the higher parts being all moorland, the low ground being either grass or under cultivation; the crops grown being principally oats, potatoes, and roots. The coast is mostly low and rocky, rising to twenty or forty feet in places, with here and there a sandy or gravelly bay where a small burn enters the sea. At the south-eastern extremity is the rather higher point of Roseness, the cliffs of the east coast gradually rising in height from here, till they reach their highest point in the fine cliffs of Galtic. ”

“ Of the latter I never saw more than two or three pairs along the shore, and of Great Black-backs, I do not think there is more than one pair in this particular part of the coast. The Gulls were always absolutely fearless, and you could walk up to within a few yards of them before they rose. Two, an immature Lesser Black-back and an adult Black-headed, had taken possession of a particular dust-bin, and they were to be seen there all day and every day, standing on an adjacent wall, or sitting asleep in the field a few yards off. ”

“ Pochard (Fuligula ferina) .—Several small flocks were often seen off the reeds in the Grœmeshall loch.
Tufted Duck (Fuligula cristata) .—One Tufted drake was identified with certainty on the Grœmeshall loch on Oct. 9th, and eight other birds with it were almost certainly immature birds of the same species.
Scaup (Fuligula marila) .—A pair of Scaup were on the loch at St. Mary's Holm the whole time I was there; they were very tame, and I frequently watched them through the glasses sleeping on the water not twenty yards away. ”

“ Some were always to be seen close in shore, diving and fishing in quite shallow water, and allowing a near approach. On the cliffs at Galtic large numbers were sitting on the whitewashed ledges, from which the nests had already been blown away. On approaching in a boat we came close to them before they threw themselves from the ledges, and, flying close over our heads, flopped into the water within a few yards of us, there to dive away out of reach of the boat. ”

“ Later on they become wilder, and after rough weather such as prevailed during the second week in October they pack, and are then practically unapproachable; the old cocks, which generally remain solitary, are very difficult to get near at any time, running in front of the dogs for hundreds of yards. At this time of the year, when the crops are being got in, the birds are mostly to be found on the fringe of the moor, not more than a hundred yards from the cultivated land, on to which they move at night to feed. ”

“ Single pairs and small flocks of eight to fifteen could be seen at any time among the rocks busily feeding, and they were often noticed fighting and chasing one another, when some choice morsel was secured by one of them. ”

“ All were in the immature plumage, and, though I went quite close to them on the 13th and 17th, I could see no signs of any dark feathers coming on the necks of any.
Rock-Dove (Columba livia) .—The Rock-Doves breed in considerable numbers in the caves at the east end of the mainland, and, though they are said to be less numerous than they were twenty years ago, there does not appear to be much danger of their extermination, the coast being very exposed, and quite unapproachable except in a flat calm, and even then they are by no means easy to shoot. ”