94 



BIRD-LIFE ON THE MOOES IN OCTOBER. 



The month of October is often inaugurated by the appear- 

 ance of the Wild Geese, which usuall}- arrive soon after harvest. 

 As early as Oct. 1, I have seen the large Grey Geese passing 

 high overhead in noisy skeins and V-shaped lines. Their 

 course of flight is almost invariably to the westward ; they 

 seldom alight, and, on the rare occasions when they do so, 

 are so extremely cautious in their choice of a resting-place, 

 and so incessantly vigilant, that they rarely allow an " advan- 

 tage " to the gunner. Hence they are seldom killed. I 

 have never, myself, succeeded in bagging a Goose on the 

 Northumbrian moors (though from no lack of effort), and 

 cannot, therefore, speak confidently as to their species. 

 Doni)tless, however, these will be similar to what are usually 

 obtained on the coast, viz., the Pink-footed and Bean Geese 

 most common ; the smaller White-fronted kind less so, and 

 the big Greylag the rarest, if, indeed, it ever visits us at all. 

 On Oct. 13, 1878, a small flight of thirteen Grey Geese took up 

 their quarters on a moorland lough, which was partly frozen, 

 and remained some days, sitting on the edge of the ice, 

 where their watchful sentries defied all attempts to out- 

 manoeuvre them by day and night. 



The moorland lakes, or " loughs " of Northumberland (or 

 Scotice, " lochs " ; but, being south of the Border, I prefer 

 the local name, which is pronounced " loff,") are, as a rule, 

 most unfavourable places for approaching wildfowl. Many are 

 situated high up, among the crests of the heathery hills, where 

 there is seldom a vestige of cover on their banks, not even a 

 fringe of rushes, or any bush or shrub, higher than heather 

 or bog-myrtle, to cover a stalk. Some are simply open peat- 

 holes in the middle of a dead flat bog, their surface not a foot 



