THE COMING OF THE WOODCOCK 



the worthy Danes. Another noticeable result of the prevailing- 

 wind was the deflection of large numbers of the birds to the 

 westward of their usual route, and many of the districts on 

 the eastern coasts which are recognised as favourite resting- 

 places came off relatively second best. 



"Curiously enough, the first cock were observed on 

 March 9th in the neighbourhood of Frederikshavn, one of 

 the most northern parts of the country ; whether they came 

 from England over the sea or across the Jutland Peninsula 

 it is, of course, impossible to say. In other quarters no others 

 were seen until nearly a week later, but the birds could, 

 of course, have made the journey in one night either from 

 Germany or the British Isles. On the 14th the members of 

 a small flight, which must have arrived during the previous 

 night, were fallen in with near the Mariager Fjord (also 

 situated in North Jutland) ; but the first really big flight 

 reached both the islands and Jutland on the night between 

 March 15th and i6th, and the next day cock were everywhere 

 in evidence. During the next few days more no doubt came 

 from the south, but only singly or in small lots ; and on the 

 2ist and 22nd a considerable number reached certain dis- 

 tricts, notably North Zeeland and that part of North Jutland 

 which lies between the Mariager and Limfjord. On the 

 night of March 28th and 29th the second large flight reached 

 the islands and Jutland ; these remained weather-bound and 

 more came the last night of the month. But during the night 

 between April 3rd and 4th the largest flight of the season 

 turned up, and reports from all over the country showed the 

 birds to be plentiful. A pause in the arrivals then ensued, 

 but on the night April 13th and 14th another big lot put in 

 an appearance, and until the 20th a number of them were 

 shot. 



" Speaking generally, the season may be said to have been 

 above the average, but in all the woodland tracts usually 

 resorted to by these migrants they were not numerous ; 

 some of these were favoured, but more birds than usual were 

 shot beyond the limits of such districts. Thus, throughout 

 the whole of South Jutland, as far as the Bay of Aarhus, 

 the birds were certainly not more numerous than in an 

 average year. But in Djursland, especially the more 



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