^°'i9l0^^^^] Phillips, Autumn Migration of the Canada Goose. 267 



Hanover Four Corners, and identified there by cotint, have come 

 straight over Oldham Camp, that I take this as a common direction 

 Hne. 



If we join these points we get a direction 20" east of true north. 

 Now if we draw out this same course south of Essex, we find it 

 touches Punkapoag Pond, as I think it shoukl. Placing a parallel 

 line to this through Manomet Point, we include a belt 36 miles wide 

 which is strikingly parallel to the coast between Portland and 

 Boston, and some distance off shore. 



South of Massachusetts the flight must bend east. A considerable 

 flight noted at Wenham and Oldham November 13, 1909, was 

 recorded on the same date at ^Nlontauk Point, Long Island, as a 

 "constant stream of geese." The general direction of large num- 

 bers of geese passing over us at Oldham has been noted. I 

 should say that this was seldom over 35 degrees east of north. 

 Of course, in heavy westerlies the birds must have to head into the 

 wind to allow for drift. 



Lines of Flight. — It is difficult to say whether inside our belt 

 there is any preference for certain lines. It is a noteworthy fact 

 that a flight lasting a day or more is very apt to follow a certain line. 

 On November 18, 1908, I note,— "For last four days good flight 

 at Accord Pond. Score for Pond 89 geese, none seen at other 

 ponds." This sort of thing happens all the time. It is also a 

 common observation, especially when a flight is on, to see one bunch 

 following up another, and in sight of it. Often several bunches 

 have come into the pond inside of five minutes. Valley routes 

 seem to be preferred. At Wenham we have a striking example of 

 this. 



Birds are seen when they are looked for, and we know that at the 

 following places considerable flights are seen every season: Wey- 

 mouth Great Pond, Whitman's, Accord, Oldham, Silver Lake, 

 Duxbury Bay, and Great Soutli Pond. It will be noted that the 

 best goose ponds are those lying within the flight-belt and nearest 

 Massachusetts Bay. In reply to a letter asking about the size of 

 goose flights at Duxbury, Dr. Rockwell CoflEin writes me as follows : 



"I should say I have, at times, seen between 2000 to 3000 geese 

 in a day, many of them outside of the sand bar, and so far away that 

 it is impossible to tell them from brant unless one uses a strong 



