Page:The Zoologist, 4th series, vol 6 (1902).djvu/496

426 and Merlins. I am glad to be able to say that the owner does not have them exterminated altogether.

From Gairloch we had a long sail to Loch Inver, which we reached on the 19th in a strong breeze of wind. As we passed one of the islands at the mouth of the loch, half a dozen Wild Geese flew close across the bows. I think they were Bernicla leucopsis; at least they were very like a stuffed specimen of this species I had seen in the possession of Mr. Sheal, the taxidermist, at Belfast.

At Loch Broom, which was our next anchorage, I paid a visit to the excise officer, who is somewhat of a naturalist. He showed me some rather interesting birds—a young Sea-Eagle, shot near Loch Broom; a Shearwater, but of what species I am not certain; a Storm-Petrel and egg; also eggs of Black- and Redthroated Diver. He also showed me a Pine Marten, shot near Ullapool, which I believe is another of our fast-disappearing mammals.

On the 25th we lay close to Piper Island, Loch Hourn. We landed, and found a large number of Terns' nests, which were rather different from those in the Sound of Mull, and, being on the rocks, were made, or rather banked up, with stonecrop and seaweed. The eggs were very handsome, being yellowish with large sepia blotches, but perhaps these were eggs of the Arctic Tern. When walking round the shore we found an Oystercatcher's nest with three beautifully marked eggs; it was placed under heather, and made of grass. The usual place is a depression in the shingle a little above high-water mark; at least, that is where I found one near Fort William some years ago. At the mouth of this loch there is a fine cliff called Priest's Rock, where, in 1900, I had the pleasure of seeing a pair of Peregrines flying round and round, uttering their wild screams. This year we sailed close under, and fired a gun, but saw no sign of them. Perhaps they had been shot.

Canna, which we reached the next day, is a most interesting island, being one of the most fertile and prosperous on the west coast. In the evening we landed for a climb to the high part of the island, where the cliffs are sheer down for 700 ft. When we reached the moor on the top of the hill, I noticed some birds running about and whistling to each other. In a few seconds I