WINTER ASPECTS 211 



birds before it. The first news I had of it was in a 

 letter, dated December 30, from a naturalist friend, 

 Mr. G. A. B. Dewar, who was staying on the towans, 

 overlooking St. Ives Bay, close to Hayle. " I won- 

 der," he wrote, " did you see much of the marvellous 

 migration scene which took place here on Friday 

 morning ? For hours till about midday redwings, 

 thrushes, larks and fieldfares streamed across St. 

 Ives Bay, coming from the east. There was a great 

 highway of birds, which must have been miles broad. 

 We saw them first from the window as we dressed. 

 . . . Most of the birds crossed the Bay, going to- 

 wards Land's End, but thousands and tens of thou- 

 sands dropped exhausted among the sand dunes, or 

 towans, here, and among these I found golden plover, 

 ring plover, sanderlings, lapwings, etc. altogether 

 an extraordinary assemblage. On Saturday morning, 

 lasting till one o'clock p.m., the birds returned in a 

 great highway east again. Mingled among them 

 were many small birds, linnets, etc. A most wonder- 

 ful pathetic scene, I assure you. I wondered if any 

 of the travellers crossed the Channel, or whether they 

 all stopped in this extreme westerly bit of land. I 

 did not think England had so many fieldfares and 

 redwings." 



On my return a few days later, I found on inquir- 

 ing along the coast that large numbers of the birds 

 had appeared at the Land's End towards evening and 

 settled down to roost in the furze and heath and 

 among the stones. At one house, I was told, numbers 

 of thrushes and starlings crowded on the window sills, 



