- ^ 1910 ] Phillips, Autumn Migration of the Canada Goose. 265 



of a week or more during which no geese are heard of from any 

 points. It lasts up until Christmas time, or a little before, the bulk 

 having passed by December 1. It is apparently always followed 

 by a small migration during the first week in January. Geese 

 have often been reported to me at Ipswich during this time, and at 

 Accord, Mass. The latest date which I have recorded is January 

 11, 1907, though I dare say there are much later ones. In early 

 January, 1909, there was a good flight at Accord; as many as four 

 or five bunches being seen in one day. 



I have a letter from Mr. T. C. Wilson of Ipswich in which he 

 says, "I gunned all day in a flight of geese, January 3, 1905 or 1906, 

 — I can't recollect which date, but there were plenty of them. 

 I killed four. In lOOS I killed one out of three on January 5, but 

 they had been hanging around for some time." 



It should here be stated that there are only very rarely any 

 "tending" geese in the belt of migration which we are considering. 

 Farther out on the Cape and on Martha's Vineyard a few spend the 

 whole winter, especially if it be mild. Wood's in the 'New England 

 Prospects,' 1634, says in regard to Geese: "These come in great 

 flocks about Michelmasse, sometimes there will be two or three 

 thousand in a flock: these continue six weeks and so fly to the 

 southward, returning in March and staying six weeks more." 

 This state of affairs, however, has passed long ago. 



I have no systematic records for the spring flight, and will dismiss 

 this subject by simply saying that it occurs in Massachusetts, well 

 to the east of the fall flight belt, and that the birds have a tendency 

 to tarry on the outer Cape and Vineyard. 



Total Bags for Eastern Massachusetts. — To get an idea of the 

 entire toll taken from the ranks of the geese in Eastern Massa- 

 chusetts during the fall, I gathered a number of records from the 

 stands in 1908, and allowing for those I did not know about, arrived 

 at the figure 1450. 



For the past season, with more extended data and a better goose 

 year, I reached the figure 1900. 



These figures in detail for 1908 are as follows: 



