Arctic Tern, Sterna arctica.—I have occasionally shot specimens of this Tern in the estuary and bay during summer, but I have not been able to ascertain whether it breeds in the district.
Lesser Tern, Sterna minuta.—Occasionally seen in summer. On the 24th May, 1851, I shot one out of a little flock fishing in the Moyne channel; and in July, 1861, on the sands near Killala, I saw two old birds with a young one. The latter, though able to fly pretty well, had the long feathers of its wings not fully grown up.
Black Tern, Sterna nigra.—Very rare, and has only once come under my notice. On the 12th October, 1859, as I was fishing for sea trout near Bartragh I remarked a group of four or five small Terns resting on the sands. I at first took them to be the young of the Common Tern; but shortly after they commenced to hawk after insects, and the very sudden and adroit twists and turns they made in pursuit of their diminutive prey at once showed that they were birds I had never seen before. On shooting a pair I found they were the Black Tern in immature plumage, and it is not improbable that they had been bred on one or other of the bog-lakes of the district.
Black-headed Gull, Larus ridibundus.—Resident and breeds in large numbers on several of the lakes of the district. Cloonagh Lake, about two miles from Ballina, is a favourite resort, as also Rarooyeen, the breeding ground of a large colony. In the middle of the little lough there is a small island about fifteen yards in diameter, upon which the nests are placed so thickly that it is almost impossible to walk without damaging either nests or eggs. When I last visited the island I counted upwards of two hundred nests with eggs or young, independently of the numerous nests built amongst the reeds and bulrushes which surround the island and grow on the margin of the lake. In the centre of the island, under a small bush quite in the middle of the gulls, I discovered two wild ducks' nests, containing eight and nine eggs respectively, upon which the ducks were quietly hatching, undisturbed by their noisy neighbours, whose cries were almost deafening while we remained near them.
Kittiwake, Larus tridactyla.—Numerous in summer, but only only occasionally seen in winter. Thousands breed on the high cliffs of Downpatrick Head.
Common Gull, Larus canus.—Very common in winter; a few
