Page:The peregrine falcon at the eyrie (IA cu31924084757206).pdf/58

 38 a little white feather sticking over one eye and nearly hiding it. On relieving Atkinson, we found a fresh pigeon's foot in the eyrie, bearing an india-rubber ring with a number on it.

During G. A. Booth's watch, from May 26th to May 27th, he noticed one youngster making a meal by himself off a piece of skin he kept under his talons, and on another occasion a youngster got hold of a mallow leaf and tore it up. He also saw a youngster eject a casting.

Brown and I sailed on May 27th to relieve Booth, and while he was helping Booth to remove his gear I searched the top of the island for castings. While doing this. Jim, our boatman, hailed me to draw my attention to the Falcon flying round, pursued by a greater black-backed gull. She flew quietly round in circles, while the gull barked at her and made vicious stoops, which she easily avoided; but there was a great difference in their speed; the gull was like a yacht easily overtaking a lumbering merchantman. The gull, after each stoop, easily recovered herself, and with a few beats of her great wings caught up with the Falcon and stooped again. The Falcon paid no attention, and after five minutes the gull flew away; but apparently not satisfied, it came back presently and renewed its attack; but the Falcon neither retaliated nor paid any attention except just to shift slightly each time the gull stooped. After the gull had gone I climbed down to the eyrie just as the Tiercel arrived and joined the Falcon in calling the alarm. When I got down to the shed I found Booth very upset. He had heard shots early in the morning, and, having seen nothing of the Falcon, was afraid she had been shot. The young were making such a clamour that they neither of them heard me say that both birds were flying round, and as neither they nor Jim noticed the presence of both birds, they went home with great fears that the Falcon had been destroyed. G. A. Booth had not altogether enjoyed his experience. It seems that when he got into the shed he was so taken up with trying to hear all the instructions, given him amid the uproar of the young in the eyrie, that he did not notice how the shed was slung to the rocks above; he only noticed the trestles. Now, his namesake, who weighed about fourteen stone had tried to see all he could while he was