ORNITHOLOGICAL NOTES FROM THE WEST
COAST OF SCOTLAND.
By W.H. Workman, M.B.O.U.
For many years I have wished to visit the west coast of Scotland in the breeding season, and see the Gulls, &c, with their nests, eggs, and young. Most seasons we have been rather late, but this year we managed to leave Belfast Lough on the 18th of May; and were about the first sailing yacht to go north. It was very cold and wet, much more like the middle of winter than the beginning of summer. On the way up to Oban we had what might have been the bad luck to get drawn into the much-dreaded Gulf of Corrievrechan. It is rather a strange sensation to feel quite helpless, the rudder being useless, as there was no way on the 'Hotspur.' Sometimes we were swept so close to the rocks that one could have thrown a biscuit on shore, then round in a circle and out to the centre, where there is a short, rather heavy swell; but, owing to the calm weather, we had no trouble, and after about an hour we got shot out at the west side. There were a great many Guillemots, Herring and Lesser Black-backed Gulls fishing in the tideway. We have always noticed this in strong tides; the fry must be brought to the surface by the rush of water. At Lismore there are always large flocks of Terns feeding. Our first anchorage was Loch Spelve, in Mull, which we reached on the 23rd. We here found the nests of two Sandpipers (Totanus hypoleucus), situate rather high up on banks, and made of moss, ferns, and grass; each nest contained four eggs. We also noticed large numbers of Lapwings (Vanellus vulgaris).
On the 26th we landed on a small island in the eastern end of the Sound of Mull, where we found a great number of nests of Lesser Black-backed Gulls (Larus fuscus); all contained eggs, it being rather early for young birds. The nests were very roughly made of grass, situate among bracken and long coarse grass. A Duck's nest was also found. We rounded Ardnamurchan without
