The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1909-07-13
CURAT OR BR|MLEY BACK
FROM COLLECTING AND INVESTI.
eating TRIP AMONG SEA- !
BIRD COLONIES. "a

various Places He Visited. and of
Habits Of the Birds Found
There.
Curator Brimley, of the State Mus
cum, has just returned from a coll
lecting and Investigating trip among
the various water bird and sea bird
colonies Of the east. Mr.. Brimley
tells a reporter that the sights met
with in various places were simply
marvellous. On Royal Shoal, a small
shell island in Pamlico Sound, about
ten miles northwest from Ocracoke,
no less than five species OF sea birds
were found nesting in abundance.
That most beautiful and graceful of
sea birds. the Royal Tern, was there,
though in depleted numbers, owing to
the gales of last summer having swept
away their young in thousands just
before hey were able to fly. Black
Swimmers. perhaps at once the most
graceful on the wing and the most
d looking sea bird Of the North
Carolina coasts, were nesting IN num-
bers among the shells and sand, their
strikingly marked eggs showing con-
~spicuously against the gray white OF
the sand. The beautiful little Least
Tern-Little Striker-Was laying its
eggs among the oyster shells, with
hardly any pretense Of a nest, or even
Of scratching a hollow. Their eggs
are most difficult to distinguish, their
ground color and markings blending
so exactly with the surrounding sand
and shells. an exceptionally fine eX-
ample of protective celebration. The
Common, or Wilson's Tern, usually
makes some p%retense Of a nest by
lining the slight hollow scratched in
the sand with q little SaQWap6 THIS
species often forms a hollow directly
on a mass of drift weed and in 1t
lays its three olive and spotted eggs.
The young Of this species run as soon
as they leave the shell Gas do those
Of the others in question: and they
are great at hiding on the approach
Of a visitor, nesting close in any lit
tie hollow or creVice of the drift
weed. The young Of the Royals run
to the water and put to sea, riding
the little ripples around the shoals
with great ease.
Among the grass and bushes at one
end Of the island the Laughing Gulls
build their nests. And, in his case,
a real nest is built. sometimes half u
foot above the surface Of the ground.
SeaWeed is the nesting material used,
and the nests are usually we'll hidden
in and under the low bushes and high
grass and are difficult to discern. The
best way to find them is to follow up
the runways made by the birds in
going in and out Altogether, there
must ave been in the neighborhood
Of a thousand birds using this little
islet as a breeding place.
On the other "Lumps-Mnler,
Davis, Legged, etc, We're found other
nesting colonies Of the same species.
A large colony Of Royal Terms was
on Miller Lump, where several pairs
Of the rare Cabot's Tern also nested.
The Royals nest in compact punches.
the largest nesting ground covering q
space not more than fifteen yards by
seven in size. In this small area the
warden had counted five hundred and
ffty-fve eggs a few days before and,
when one considers that these birds
usually lay only one egg, the crowd
ing Of the nest hollows one against
the other can be partly imagined.
Various heron rookeries were also
visited and photographed and the
Maine and Florida. No less than five
of the large nests Of the Great Blue
Heron were Gun in one small cy-
press tree. while a small bay tree
contained fourteen nests Of Cormo-
rant. Fish Hawks build their great
nests on the expresses standing out
in the water and the Night Herons
and little Blue Herons build in the
trees and bushes along shore.
Many photographs were taken and
a lot Of material collected for use in
building up group Of the marsh
birds, the beach birds and the sea
birds Of the State. that the Curator
has in preparation for the Museum.
The work Of the udubo Society
is we'll e~xemDlified in the number Of
seabirds now on the North Carolina
sounds. A few years g the Least
Terms were bordering on total eXtinc-
ton while now they are nesting in
hundreds on the protected Stands.
The same remark applies to the Royal
and Wilson's Terms and, in fact, to
nearly all the birds that were until
lately in demand for millinery pur-
poses. Professor Pearson is to be
congratulated Or his good work in
preserving these beautiful and use
full birds firm total extinction.