o22 Phillips, Unusual Flights of Canada Geese. [july 



At Oldham Pond, South Hanover, on November 28, there was a 

 northeast rainstorm lasting all day. Geese appeared at 8 a. m. 

 Two bunches came into the pond; and four bunches, comprising 

 about 225 birds, passed over. On November 29, 78 geese lighted 

 in Oldham Pond, and thirty were seen flying. On November 30, 

 110 geese came to the pond, and 33 were noted flying; while on 

 December 1 and 2 nearly 1000 geese were seen from the stand, and a 

 few came to the pond. 



At Clark's Island, Duxbury Bay, Dr. Rockwell Coffin tells me 

 of the same remarkable flight. About 10 o'clock on the morning 

 of November 28, geese appeared in great numbers. In three hours 

 a rough count showed that 6000 geese had passed outside the bar; 

 but none came into the bay until evening. For the next seventeen 

 days geese were seen every day at this point. Other points noted 

 great flights; at Accord Pond 1000 were seen on December 28, but, 

 as most places do not keep records, they need not concern us. 

 The above data are sufficient to show that there was a very large 

 and suddenly developed migration. 



Now, as to the meteorological facts in connection with this 

 flight, the charts of November 26, 27, and 28 all show stormy 

 conditions off the Atlantic coast, moving slowly eastward, and 

 accompanied by strong northerly winds. There was considerable 

 precipitation, especially in Newfoundland; and much of it must 

 have been snow. The wind reached 48 miles an hour at Port ail 

 Basques on November 27, while on the same day the precipitation 

 at Sable Island was over If inches. Strong northerly to north- 

 easterly coastal winds continued through November 28 and 29, 

 while the temperature remained seasonable. Migrating geese 

 might well have started during northwesterly winds, and later on 

 encountered the storm area, and then followed the coast with a 

 north or northeast wind. As noted in my first paper, these condi- 

 tions do not seem to be especially unfavorable for migration, as 

 witness the fact that only a small percentage of flocks stopped 

 during the first of this flight. 



The conditions which suddenly set in motion such great numbers 

 of birds are all a mystery. Like many of these flights, the greatest 

 volume seems to arrive with the front of the migratory wave; 

 and the first flocks are less inclined to stop than those that follow 

 later on. 



