WEST COAST OF SCOTLAND.

Schedules, etc., were sent to thirty-five stations, not including the Isle of Man (five more), the schedules for which are under Mr Eagle Clarke's charge. Of the thirty-five we have received returns from fifteen stations. From these fifteen stations we have thirty-eight filled schedules. We have again received two schedules from Monach Islands; but, as in 1885, they are again written straight across the schedule, irrespective of columns. To enter all these notes in their right places and sequence in our Report would cause great additional labour and loss of time to the working members of the Committee, as already fully explained in last Report (p. 92), q.v.

We would be much obliged by our Reporters adhering to the columnar arrangement.

LIST OF STATIONS.

Note: The names of the Reporters are given under "Diary from the Stations."

Returns
in 8 years,
including
1887.		In
1887.		List of Stations.Values.Feet.
Sutherland.
481.Cape Wrath,III.400
482.Rhu Stoir,II.195
Outer Hebrides.
7*83.Butt of Lewis,I.170
384.Stornoway (2 Lights),{II.
I.		}56
385.Island Ghlais,I.130
7*86.Monach Islands,{I.150
II.62
287.Ushenish, N. Unst,VI.176
488.Barra Head,II.683
4*89.Rona, Skye,IV.222
7*90.Kyleakin, W. Ross,IV.53
291.Isle Ornsay,I.58
292.ArdnamurchanI.
8*93.Skerryvore and Hynish Signal Tower, Tiree,II.150
8*94.Dhuheartach,I.146
595.Sound of Mull,V.55
96.Corran Ferry,IV.38
497.Lismore, Oban,I.103
298.Fladda, Easdale,VI.42
499.Rhuvaal,IV.147
7100.M'Arthur's Head,IV.128
8*101.Skervuile,II.73
8*102.Rhinns of Islay,IV.159
3*103.Lochindaul,IV.50
0104.Mull of Cantyre,VI.297
0105.Sanda,
0106.Devaar,II.120
0107.Pladda, Arran,II.130
5*108.Lamlash, Arran,IV.46
4*109.Turnberry, Ayrshire,IV.96
4109b. Ailsa Craig, 1885,
7*110.Corsewall,IV.112
111.Loch Ryan,I.46
7*112.Portpatrick,I.37
7*113.Mull of Galloway,II.325
4*114.Little Ross,IV.176

Diary from the Stations.

Butt of Lewis.—Robert Agnew (replacing Mr Edgar, who is now at Lochindaul, q.v.). Mr R. Agnew is a son of Mr Joseph Agnew, late keeper at Isle of May (East Coast), now stationed at Monach Isles, q.v. Mr R. Agnew sends, in all, two excellently well-filled schedules from the Butt of Lewis. Under date of November 9th, 1886, he writes: "I send you a schedule. I hope you will find it of use. I would have sent it sooner, but wrote to my father for the loan of a book to help me, and waited till I heard from him." [Schedules sent date from August 23d to February 7, 1887.] Mr Agnew continues: "I am surprised to see that most of the strange birds that I have seen here are single. It must just be occasional stragglers that we get from the flocks that are passing. It is also strange that there are so few birds coming to the lantern, but the tower is very high—120 feet—and perhaps that is the reason." [Mr R. Agnew is right in believing that stragglers are all that can be expected to appear at Butt of Lewis, though possibly in exceptional seasons unusual numbers may appear. Birds "catch up" at Cape Wrath and W. C. of Scotland. Remnants "catch up" again at Butt of Lewis. But in easterly gales the "catch up" of the land is often lost, and hundreds or thousands are carried clear away to the Atlantic. See previous Reports.—J. A. H.-B.] Mr Agnew continues: "I have marked a Hen Harrier, and by the description in the book" [he having received the loan of the book from his father—Mudie's "Birds">[, "I think I am right. He remained here for some time, and the poor Rock Pigeons led a poor time of it. I also found a young Gull he had killed and eaten. I was surprised to see it, because I did not think that he would have attacked so large a bird. I measured the wings, and found them to be 4 feet 2 inches from tip to tip." [Mr R. A. sent me the wings, but they did not reach me, and must have miscarried, but no doubt it was one of the common species of Gulls; from the measurements, probably a Herring Gull; or possibly—i.e., if the measurements are correctly taken across the back and wings—an Iceland Gull. (See MacGillivray's "Manual," under the said species, vol. ii., p. 247.)—J. A. H.-B.] Mr R. A. says: "I only came here last summer, and did not begin to keep records till near the end of August, but another year I hope to be able to do better." [Meanwhile, we can only thank Mr R. A. for his excellent commencement of the work, which is well done.—J. A. H.-B.]

Later, in the second schedule, Mr R. A. writes: "There has been nothing to record since the 25th of November." [Last date of schedule.—J. A. H.-B.] "The Snow Buntings have remained with us all winter. All summer we had large flocks of Solan Geese, till the first of October; after that there were a few till the 1st of November; but since then (till February 7, 1887) I have not seen one." [These Solan Geese notes are always interesting. Perhaps Mr Agnew will devote a separate schedule to the day-to-day movements of Solan Geese another season.—J. A. H.-B.] He continues: "On the 24th October I observed very large flocks of sea-birds, fishing close to the lighthouse. There were all sorts of them; I could not say how many, but there must have been many hundreds. We saw them from 9 A.M. till 11 A.M. After that there was not one to be seen (where did they come from and where did they go?)." [We believe they simply followed a vast body of fish—young or adult—or entomostracæ, which "showed" on the surface, indicating one of the strange, or little understood, migrations of fish, or entomostracæ. One or two of the birds shot, and contents of their stomachs examined, might have explained a great deal. Possibly Mr Agnew may still be able to supply a note as to the nature of their food at the time.—J. A. H.-B.]

Monach Isles.—D. Georgeson sends two closely written schedules, but, as before stated, straight across the columns. We will give them here in extenso as the simplest way of writing them in.