282 BRITISH SEA BIRDS. 



the German Ocean and the English Channel. The 

 western districts are everywhere less favourable 

 than the eastern, due partly to their much more 

 isolated position, and the wider extent of the 

 frontier seas. Two reaches of the British coast 

 deserve special mention for the numbers of migrant 

 birds that frequent them. These are the coasts 

 between the Humber and the Thames, and the sea- 

 board of Hampshire, Sussex, and Kent. The 

 observer of migration on the coast will do well to 

 bear in mind the following facts. Many birds do 

 not absolutely confine their flight to the indentations 

 of the coast, but fly from one headland to another, 

 so that on the coasts of the intervening bays but 

 little migration may be witnessed. Headlands 

 appear everywhere to be exceptionally favourable 

 points for observation. Rock-bound coasts, again, 

 are not so much frequented by migrants as those 

 that are low-lying, or present a considerable area of 

 beach ; whilst there is some evidence to suggest 

 that where the shore is composed of cliffs falling 

 sheer to the water, fjords and river valleys are ex- 

 ceptionally favoured. During the migration period, 

 both in spring and autumn, the early hours of 

 morning, or the dusk of evening, will be found 

 to reward observation best. Due regard should 

 also be paid to the direction of the wind, and the 

 prevailing state of the weather a change in either 

 being often followed by migratory movement. 



A very large percentage of the birds described in 



