Part 5

Kittiwake, _Rissa tridactyla_.--At Skervuile on May 31st, two at noon flying north; calm, clear.

Tern.--At Dhuheartach, six seen on the evening of Aug. 27th, wind S., cloudy; and four at the same station on the morning of Sept. 4th.

Birds unknown.--At Portpatrick on July 12th, a flock of small birds passed overhead at 8.30 a.m., wind S.S.E., fresh, and rainy; and on Oct. 13th a flock passed inland at 4.20 p.m., wind S.W., and rain; on Nov. 13th "a flock of birds not known" passed inland, wind E. by N., and clear. At Pladda on Aug. 20th, one Snipe, species not known, at 4 a.m., wind S.E., strong, and haze; and another on Nov. 15th. At Skervuile, on Nov. 14th, a number from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m., wind variable, light, and haze; and others on Oct. 7th at Skervuile; "many killed and fell into the sea."

Red-breasted Merganser.--At Corsewall, on July 20th, a "strange Duck" (since identified as a Red-breasted Merganser) was killed at glass at 2 a.m.; wind E., light, with haze.

Solan Goose, _Sula bassana_.--At Cape Wrath and other stations upon our coasts, an extraordinary annual migration of Solan Geese is witnessed. Mr. M'Gill has reported to me specially on that of 1879, and kept as accurate a record as possible of the numbers which he estimated to pass westward. He writes as follows:--"The number of Solan Geese that migrate past Cape Wrath is beyond anyone's power to number, but I have come as near to it as possible. The first half of July the flocks were composed of old birds, and the rest of the time they were mixed old and young." Mr. M'Gill then gives the following list of Solan Geese seen passing west on fifteen days, between 14th July and 9th August, which I reproduce here:--

July 14th. 600 to 700. 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Wind E. Clear. " 15th. 200. 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. " E. Haze. " 16th. 40 to 90. 12 noon to 7 p.m. " E. Haze. " 22nd. 200 to 400. 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. " N.-N.E. Fog, rain. " 24th. 100 to 200. 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. " S.W. Clear. " 26th. 300 to 400. 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. " S.W. Haze. " 28th. 90 to 100. 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. " S.W. Haze, rain. " 31st. 60 to 80. 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. " S. Haze, showers. Aug. 1st. 100 to 300. 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. " W. Haze, rain. " 3rd. 300 to 400. 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. " E. Clear. " 4th. 60 to 70. 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. " E. Fog, clear. " 5th. 20 to 30. 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. " N.E. Fog, rain. " 7th. 40 to 50. 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. " N. Fog, rain. " 8th. 20 to 40. 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. " N. Fog, rain. " 9th. 20. 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. " N. Haze.

Thus it will be seen that from 2150 to 3080 were estimated to pass westward within view of Cape Wrath, between July 14th and August 9th, during fifteen days occupied on migration. All which were observed passed during the day--say between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m.--and apparently in all winds and weather. From the Butt of Lewis Mr. Edgar supplies the general information that the Solan Geese pass the station, arriving first in May, and leaving in the latter end of October, but giving no particulars as to direction of flight. At Mull of Galloway Solan Geese are reported as passing, on July 19th, in flocks. Mr. N. B. Morrison reports as follows:--"Saw them flying past to W.S.W. in wedge-shaped flocks as if on a passage, or changing locality." This was during the forenoon; wind S., light, and haze. "At 1 p.m. it began to rain, and continued for twenty-four hours; rain guage at 9 a.m. of 20th, 1·72 inches. On 21st, 22nd, 23rd, and 24th, very strong breeze, and showers; wind W.N.W. to S.W." Again at same station (Mull of Galloway) flocks continued passing all day; wind S.E., fresh, fog, and rain, flying in same direction. On 8th and 9th, wind S., gale; 10th, wind W., strong. In a later note Mr. M'Gill believes "that the Solan Geese strike the land first at Cape Wrath," and that the Geese which pass it are from Suliskerry.

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On the west coast of Scotland, also, many observers make particular mention of the scarcity of autumnal migrants in 1879. At several principal and important stations this scarcity is of course most remarked upon, such as Butt of Lewis, Monach Island, Island Glass, Skerryvore, and Dhuheartach. During long experience at these and other stations, the several observers do not remember such great scarcity of birds during the autumn migration. From other observers' remarks it would appear that several of the west coast stations are not suitable for observations being made, from their land-locked situations or other local influences, such as Kyleakin, Sound of Mull, Corran Ferry, and others.

Many birds are killed at the lanterns of the more isolated lighthouses and are blown into the sea. Thus, in 1877, at Skerryvore, in the month of October, the number of birds killed was six hundred, chiefly the Common and "Mountain Thrush" (Ring Ouzel), but including also Blackbirds, Snipes, Larks, and one Wild Duck. The observer, Mr. W. Crow, was of opinion that about two hundred more were killed and blown into the sea. They came every night from the 1st to the 6th, about 8 p.m., and went away at daylight. "I would estimate," he says, "the number about the light on each of the above nights to be about a thousand." The direction of the wind was from S.S.E. to S., with haze; and no migration of birds was observed during the day. On Dhuheartach lighthouse rock, "two Hawks are seen every morning" while the migration lasts, which come to prey upon the small birds resting on the rock. A considerable flight of migrants took place about Oct. 7th, as upon the east coast.

The direction of the flight of migrants appears to be from east to west at the north coast stations, but from N.W. and N.N.W. to S.W. or S.S.W. at the stations farther south; and this is borne out by previous observations in former years by my west coast observers at Tyree and elsewhere. Our observers have not usually reported the direction taken by the migrants, but there are enough data to prove the above lines. It would appear, therefore, that birds when passing from east to west often overshoot the land, and are compelled to turn back upon a new course, according to the direction of the wind. In 1878, Mr. W. Boyd (since deceased) wrote regarding the migration in Mull as follows:--"In the month of October I was fishing on Loch Assapol, near Bunessan. Almost every day I saw flock after flock of little birds--Larks, Buntings, Robins, and even Wrens--flying across the loch. All these birds were steering the same course, having apparently come from the outlying Hebrides, _viá_ Tyree, Iona, up the Rose of Mull, and were steering for the mainland. Fresh arrivals of different species of Ducks rested and then passed on. Wild Swans and Geese were seen far up in the air, all taking a bee-line for the south." On another occasion Mr. Boyd visited Tyree in December, 1878, and both he and a companion remarked "the extraordinary scarcity of common birds, and the unusual number of winter visitors." One day every Snipe they put up, instead of flying a bit and settling again, rose high in air, and went off due south-east as far as they could see, right across the sea, to Mull. The remark was then made, "The sooner we go south for powder and provisions the better; we are going to have an arctic winter," which, as is well remembered, was a perfectly correct surmise. It will thus be seen that the flights of wildfowl almost invariably are from N. to S. on both coasts, but that the smaller birds--land birds--as they fly lower, are more influenced by the configuration of the coast-lines, and also, no doubt, by the direction of the wind at the time. Our data are at present too scanty to lay down with precision the minutiæ of their lines of flight, but another year's observations will probably greatly assist us. The same rules, as to time of day or night at which birds strike the lantern, holds upon the west coast which also obtain on the east, and the same remarks as to weather also hold good.

The above remarks upon the direction of the flights upon our west coast may prove of value in a comparison with Mr. Cordeaux's notes upon the direction of the flights at the Galloper Bank. We are aware here that birds pass overland on migration, crossing Scotland between the Firths of Clyde and Forth, as they have been heard on calm nights crying as they passed over from W. to E., or from points N. of W. to points S. of E.; and day-flights have often been observed passing here from N.N.W. towards S.S.E., or from N.W. to S.W. I would instance here Bramblings, _Fringilla montifringilia_, natives of Northern Europe. (See Gray's 'Birds of the West of Scotland,' p. 137. The "column" of Bramblings there described as on migration were not "proceeding in a north-easterly direction," however, as stated by Mr. Gray, but were coming from a north-westerly direction, and were proceeding in a south-easterly direction.)

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Transcriber Note

Minor typos were corrected. Several quotaion closures were missing and added in the most likely place. Table of Contents added to assist reader.