Page:The Zoologist, 4th series, vol 2 (1898).djvu/306

274 Ornithological Notes from Sark.—In the early spring of the present year I spent a week (March 22nd-30th) on Sark with some college friends, and possibly some notes on the birds to be found on the island at that time of the year may be of interest to readers of 'The Zoologist.' We observed in all some forty species, and very probably overlooked others, as during the first half of our stay a strong gale was blowing from the north, with frequent showers of rain and snow, which made it both difficult and unpleasant to hunt for birds. We saw four species of Gulls—the Herring Gull, Greater and Lesser Black-backed Gulls, and the Kittiwake, of which the first mentioned was by far the commonest. The Kittiwake nests on the "Autelets," a group of rocks, very difficult to climb, on the west of the island. Four or five pairs were there at the end of our visit, and I do not think many more nest on the island, as the fishermen say they are not at all common. The Razorbills and Guillemots arrived on March 29th, and took possession of the ledges on the "Autelets," where they nest later ou in the year. I counted from fifty to sixty of each species. The Shags were very numerous, and were busy with their nests, in some of which, I think, eggs had already been laid. They appear to nest principally on the "Autelets," the Moie de Mouton, and on the rocks around Pot Bay. I only saw one Cormorant, and, as the fishermen do not seem to know the bird, they are probably uncommon. We saw a great number of Oystercatchers all round the island; they were chiefly in pairs, but occasionally we saw five or six, or even more together. The Chough is not common on the island, but I believe it breeds there regularly. One fisherman told me he had not seen more than one pair for some time, but another thought there were in all about six pairs. I myself saw one pair in Dixcart Bay, where I was told they nest, and on another occasion five together on the western side of the island. We saw one pair of Ravens, and found their nest in the side of a cliff on the Moie de Mouton; it contained two or three young birds well fledged. The Kestrel was not at all uncommon, and the Sparrowhawk is also said to inhabit the island, but we did not notice it during our visit. Rock Pipits were fairly numerous, and one or two pairs of Stonechats might be seen wherever there was any gorse growing. I noticed one or two Cirl Buntings, and also a pair of Firecrests, which were very tame. The Wheatear appeared on March 28th, and the Chiffchaff on the 30th. We also observed the following birds:—Mistle Thrush, Song Thrush, Blackbird, Redbreast, Goldcrest, Hedgesparrow, Great Tit, Blue Tit, Wren, Meadow Pipit, Greenfinch, House Sparrow, Chaffinch, Linnet, Yellow Bunting, Starling, Magpie (common), Jackdaw, Carrion Crow, Sky Lark, and Lapwing (flock of seventeen). The fishermen say that the Gannet visits Sark in the summer, and that the Puffin nests on L'Etac, an island off Little Sark, but we saw neither of these birds during our stay on