246 Mr. W. Eagle Clarke—^ Month 



XVI, — A Month on the Eddyntone : a Study in Bird- 

 migration. 13y William Eagle Clakke^ F.L.S. &c. 



Foil many years past I liave annually made peregrinations to 

 favourably situated localities, both at home and abroad, 

 during spring and autumn, for the purpose of observing the 

 migratory movements of birds. Tiie practical experience 

 thus gained has been of incalculable value to me in the 

 ])rcparation of the various Reports which I have from time to 

 time submitted to the British Association on the subject 

 of Bird-migration in Great Britain and Ireland. 



Varied as to time and place and withal successful ns 

 these numerous expeditions have been, yet until 1901 I had 

 practically failed to obtain satisfactory kncwledgej by direct 

 personal observation, as to one of the most important phases 

 of the phenomenon- — namely, that of emigration. That this 

 should have been the case is not difficult to realize Nvhen it 

 is remembered that emigration is the movement of all others 

 which is performed under conditions of obscurity. Thus it 

 is chiefly — and entirely in the case of the majority ot 

 species — undertaken during the hours of darkness, so that 

 it escapes the notice of all save those few peculiarly 

 placed observers, the light-keepers ; and even they, however 

 watchful they may be, witness a mere fraction of the move- 

 ments that actually take place in close proximity to their 

 stations, for it is only under certain meteorological conditions 

 that the migrants seek the beacon's light and reveal them- 

 selves to the watcher, if there be one ready to watch. 



I therefore determined, if possible, to spend a month in 

 such a station for the purpose of perfecting my experience 

 in what has long been a favourite study, and in the belief 

 that a trained observer, prepared to devote the uhole of his 

 time to the necessary vigils, might, even in so short a period, 

 during the height of the migratory season, add considerably 

 to the knowledge of these important movements. 



It required but little consideration to decide that autumn 

 was obviously the best season, that tiie south coast of 

 England was the best section oi' our littoral on which to 



