Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1905-06-29

off in a compact flock like the beach birds.
We shall meet few ducks on this trip;
most of them have not yet begun to come
south. Looms. however. are already fly
ing, and perhaps we shall see cormor
ant. IA great black creature with broad
wings and slow wing strokes. We follow
mis- flight over the water to "A distant
spar-buoy. on which he alights. With a
glass we can make out the curve IN MS
long outstretchcd neck.
When we are a mile or two from shore
we begin to see petrels. These birds, tho
Mother Caroy's chickens of the sailors.
are familiar to anyone who has crossed
the Atlantic in summer. Even on trip
from Boston to Glocester, they begin to
appear, soon after the boat passes the
outer light Flying low over water, with
long, narrow wings. and deeply iorked
tail, nearly black, with a bright white
rump. they cannot be mistaken for any
other bird. Their feet often dangle as
liz they were walking on the water this
appearance has given them the namo
pctreI in allusion to Peters walking on
the Sea of Galilee. We see from our fish,
| ing boat one here, one there. circling with
never wcarying flight over the water; we
throw out the cod liver. and soon there
are n number close about the boat.
Though there are two species of petrol OF
the New England coast. all that we shall
probublv seen on this summer day Will be
the Wilson's petrol. a species which
breeds in the Antarctic ocean and Is
actually spending is winter and our sum-
lmer on the Atlantic. The other species,
the Leachs petrol. is one of the inter-
esting birds that spends the summer on
the islands off the Maine coast 1t breeds
| in burrows under the turf, laying only
one egg, and going to and from its burrow
at dusk, The twittcring sound made by
the birds at night as they fly past one
has weird, uncanny effect. petrol
that few on board ship. when | was once
crossing the Atlantic. when held IN my
hand showed his instinct for burrowins
bv creeping IN my sleeve. The Leach {
petrol Is rarely seen in summer near the
Massa chusetts coast. 1t is browner and
larger than the Wilson'S petrol. and could
doubtless be distinguished from that spe-
cies if both together came to the cod
liver near the boat.
Soon we see Il larger bird also lying
, close to the water, or rising form it. Gid
ling with wings outstretched up the crest
of one wave, disappearing into the trough
of another and swaying now with the ny
of one wing pointed upward. then witt
the other This is the clearwater, rela
tive of the petrol, and also sojournel
: here from seas far to the southwark
breeding on some lonely Antarctic isle.
l The fishermen call these birds hagdons OF
haglets, and formerly caught Srea
) uu,ntites of them off the fishing banks
| for bait. The greater clearwater, which
is the commonest off our coast has whit
under parts and white band across tn
base of the tail. AS tie shearwaters in
crease in number. attracted to our bait
Y we see among them one that looks al
y most as black as a crow. This is the SCOT,
shearwater, of about the same size AM
: with the same gliding flight, but easil,
$ DISTINGUISHED by it's uniform sOoty color
q BY this time the shearwaters are sitting
u i'm the water about the boat or srcedil
t tearing at the liver which We throw out
Jaegers, too. have been attracted by tn
= sight of birds evidently engaged in feed
}, ing. and they too snatch eagerly at IN
0 floating liver We are surrounded now b.
e truly pelagic birds birds of the ocean, a
t much at home in the middle of the grea
: Atlantic and in the widest storms as tn
$ hobolink in the meadow or the chippin
u sparrow in our dooryard.
t The grace and ease which these long
n winged birds of the sea display in glidn
r over the cres,s of the waves or In pur
{ suing each other in search of food,
. equalled. if not surpassed. by the gannet'