191 2- DeIvAP. — Autumn Migrati07i of Swalloivs. 69 



September 5th. — Travelled by 7.45 a.m. train from Wex- 

 ford to Rosslare ; calm and rather foggy morning. From 

 about half way down there were very large flocks of Swallows 

 on the telegraph wires and numbers crossing the line, the 

 general direction being W. or N.W., but one large flock 

 crossed the line going nearly due S. The flocks overlapped, 

 and one was never out of sight of scores of birds, from about 

 a mile to the Wexford side of Rosslare Strand station, to 

 Rosslare Harbour. On arriving at Rosslare Harbour at 8.15 

 a.m., a continuous stream of birds was found to be passing 

 up the coast W. or N.W., and out in the bay, J mile to the 

 N. of the pier-head the stream was found to be nearly due 

 N., and quite as dense as along the shore. The stream 

 extended out to sea as far as could be seen. It ceased 

 quite suddenly at 11 a.m. and no more birds were seen 

 except about 20 at 1.30 and half-a-dozcn at 4.30 p.m. 

 Nearly all birds seen were Swallows, only a few House - 

 martins were noticed with them. 



September 6th. — A thin stream of Swallows passed from 

 7.30 to 8.30 a.m., as usual from S.E. to N.W. 



September 7th to 14th. — No large numbers passed, but 

 each day small parties of a few dozen each passed, generally 

 between 8.30 and 9.30 a.m., always going in a direction 

 between N. and W. In all parties that stopped to feed 

 and so could be carefully observed, there were young birds 

 present. 



September 15th. — At 8 a.m., cold and wild, some hundreds 

 of Swallows passed, going very nearly due N., and almost 

 dead against the wind. 



September i6th and 17th. — None seen. 



September i8th. — Very fine and calm ; large numbers of 

 Swallows passed up the coast, N.W. from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. 

 During much of this time I was out in the bay well to the 

 N. of the pier, and could see the birds coming in from the E. 

 and S.E. Some of them — and I think they were the more 

 tired — turned in a S.W. direction, as, by doing so, they could 

 reach the coast sooner ; others kept a much more northerly 

 course, as if content to pick up the land some miles further 

 to the N. 



