J\I Ignition ill the N^ortkcrii Shires. 273 



the adjoining farms; although it is said that these 

 earth-works are the remains of Roman roads. At 

 low-water the sea is several miles from the banks, 

 and the vast expanse of mud is scored in many 

 directions with tortuous streams and long narrow 

 pools. In summer few birds frequent the place; 

 in autumn it is a orand resort of birds, beino- in 

 the direct pathway of that vast stream of migrants 

 that flows across the wild North Sea from regions 

 possibly as remote as Siberia. 



Although a very large proportion of indigenous 

 British birds are migratory — probably the greater 

 number — a great many of these undertake their 

 annual journeys in such a very modest and undemon- 

 strative way that they escape general notice. On 

 the other hand, there are a certain if small number 

 of species that migrate in such vast numbers that 

 even the most casual observer cannot fail to remark 

 the fact. Of this small proportion the Goldcrest, 

 the Sky-lark, and the Hooded Crow are certainly 

 amongst the most prominent. The migrations of 

 the first-named bird in autumn are sometimes on a 

 prodigious scale. The autumn of 1882 was remark- 

 able in this respect, especially as regards the 

 Yorkshire and Lincolnshire coasts. This migration 

 appears to have first been recorded from Redcar on 

 the 13th of August. During this month the birds 

 came in comparatively small numbers, which did not 



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