482 THE BIRDS OF HELIGOLAND 



adepts at shooting birds on the wing, the results they obtained 

 appear truly astonishing. On the 18th of October 1861 about six 

 hundred Woodcock were caught and shot here, five hundred of 

 which I saw lying on the shop floor of a dealer — no doubt a rare 

 sight— though I have frequently known bags of from two to three 

 hundred as the result of one day's shootmg. During the spring 

 migi-ation a ' great flight ' of this description is of rare occurrence ; 

 nevertheless two of the Aeuckens brothers — Oelk and Jan — on one 

 occasioii in spring shot, in the early morning, some fifty birds at 

 the foot of the clitf — about two hundred altogether having been 

 killed on the same day. The wind at the time being a light south- 

 easter, and the weather hazy, this case cannot be considei'ed excep- 

 tional, but rather as belonging to the regular migration. On another 

 occasion, many years before this, a young pilot shot seventj'-four 

 "Woodcock on a Good Friday. It appears from these instances 

 that this species ma}' occiu- in large numbers during the spring 

 migration, wmd and weather alone being the factors -which deter- 

 mine their appearance. 



As has, however, been already frequently mentioned, the meteor- 

 ological conditions have considerably altered since about thirty 

 years ago. Before that time, it was almost a fixed rule for the wind 

 during the autumn months to pass slowly from west to south, and 

 then, after a short interval of approximate calm, to change suddenly 

 to a stiff north-westerl}- gale ; an event which, if it happened at a 

 time when the migratory movement was at its highest develo]3- 

 ment, was invariably followed by a more or less considerable flight 

 of Woodcocks. Since that time, however, these conditions are no 

 longer met with on this island : nowadays in autumn strong west 

 winds, veering round to south with increasing force, and rain, are 

 not followed by sudden north-westerly gales, but almost invariabty 

 slacken back to west. However, Heligoland has reaped at least 

 one advantage from this change; for its small sandy dune, the 

 possession of which is to this island a question of life and death, 

 is now no longer exposed to the destructive effects of the high 

 flood-tides resulting only too frequently from these violent north- 

 westerly gales ; for before this period of change this portion of our 

 island diminished steadily on the north-west side ; since that time, 

 however, while decreasing on its southern side, the shore on the 

 north side has gained considerable additions from year to year. 



Further, before the period under consideration, the spring and 

 summer months were almost invariably fine and warm, with a 

 prevalence of south-easterly winds, .so that in April and May of 

 almost every j'ear the island used to teem with Sylviaj and other 

 small birds ; indeed, there were many days on which one might 



