30 The Ottawa Naturalist [May 



Survey, Washington, D.C., the migratory routes of the Golden Plover 

 have been carefully reviewed. So far as 'a spring visit from this bird 

 is concerned in eastern Ontario, it might be safely ventured that a 

 record is unknown. 



The plover breeds well within the Arctic Circle, and at the close 

 of the short northern summer, the birds gather in great numbers in 

 preparation for their southern migration. The flocks flying south pass 

 on their route to the east of Hudson's Bay, and make their first stop, 

 we are informed, in Labrador where they enjoy feasting on native 

 berries which grow in abundance along the bleak and wind-swept 

 coast. Continuing their southward journey they make their way to the 

 coast of Nova Scotia, from which locality they make their long flight 

 of twenty-four hundred miles to South America, always waiting for 

 favorable weather conditions before undertaking the flight. The time 

 of arrival, dates of departure, and the route travelled can be accur- 

 ately recorded, and yet the real concrete cause for the long journeys 

 of these members of the feathered family, have remained, and probably 

 always will remain, one of the unsolved problems of the bird world. 



From notes on this subject of the migration of the Golden Plover, 

 it is evident that this bird's route is by no means confined to the 

 eastern or Atlantic coast, but that it has other means of reaching its 

 temporary southern home during the rigorous months of the northern 

 winter, the writer, as well as others, is satisfied. During the month 

 of September vast numbers of plover follow the west coast of Hudson's 

 Bay, and pass over the eastern end of Lake Ontario on their way 

 south. 



In September, 1906, a great flight of plover passed over the city 

 of Kingston, which is located on the extreme eastern end of Lake 

 Ontario. The flight was first noticed about eight o'clock in the 

 evening, and to one familiar with the soft, sweet piping of the Golden 

 Plover, there was no difficulty whatever in recognizing the bird. A 

 record of flight showed that eight flocks passed over the city, flying 

 very low, at intervals of about ten minutes. Towards midnight it was 

 impossible to enumerate the flocks, the flight being continuous. This 

 must have been the main migration for that year, and it continued 

 until four o'clock in the morning, covering eight hours. Allowing a 

 speed of twenty-five miles an hour a conservative estimate the 

 distance between the leading flocks and the rear guard, must have 

 been approximately two hundred miles. What a sublime spectacle 

 this would have been had one the privilege of seeing it in the open 

 light of day ! The vanguard of this great aerial aggregation must 

 have reached almost to the Atlantic seaboard, while the rear flocks 

 were trailing their wonderful way over the eastern waters of Lake 

 Ontario. They no doubt began their ocean journey some miles south 



