THE PERILS OF MIGRATION 111 



exactly on the last day of the last quarter of the 

 moon the darkest night for travel. A bank of 

 fog and drizzle met them off the Irish coast, and 

 baffled and weary they were attracted by the lights, 

 not only on the coast but in the inland towns they 

 passed. 



In the main I think Mr Barrington's explanation 

 is correct, but even if the birds were gathered 

 farther west than usual, which I doubt, it was the 

 north-east wind which had drifted them, and the 

 word " decided " is a bold one to use when dealing 

 with the behaviour of birds. Easterly winds would 

 drift them westward, and the striking Ireland was 

 accidental ; it was the safety of the many, as well 

 as the deathblow to the comparative few. On the 

 night of the 31st I received news of this visitation, 

 and later found that similar movements, without 

 disaster, were noticed on the north coast of Wales 

 and in Cheshire. On the nights of the 30th and 

 31st birds in large numbers passed over Bangor 

 and the Menai Straits ; amongst them were golden 

 plover, and the next day these birds with fieldfares 

 and redwings were more abundant than before 

 in the mid-Cheshire fields. On the night of April 

 2nd, from dusk to midnight, a large passage occurred 

 over Mere in Cheshire, where curlew, golden plover, 

 oyster-catcher and wild duck were recognised by 

 their calls, and at the same time a passage was 



