1 16 Mr. W. Eagle Clarke — Bird-migration 



The first migratory movements to come under notice were 

 those proceeding in a southerly direction. I was much 

 gratified to find that, although at such an outlying station, 

 the lightship lay in the course of the southerly passage of 

 numerous summer-birds departing either from the more 

 northern Counties of Great Britain, or from North-western 

 Europe via our eastern seaboard, or, again, from both these 

 areas. Many of these migrants from the north while 

 skirting our shores find themselves far to the eastward on 

 reaching the coast of Suffolk, and on leaving that county 

 proceed over sea towards the east coast of Kent, a course 

 which carries them near to the Kentish Knock, where not 

 a few of them were observed coming from the N. and 

 proceeding to the S.S.W. 



Numbers of such emigrants passed between the 18th and 

 29th of September — a genial spell of weather, with much 

 sunshine and light breezes, following a particularly cold and 

 stormy period for the time of the year. Between these dates 

 many Wheatears, Redstarts, Skylarks, Pied Flycatchers, and 

 Tree-Pipits flitted by ; and fewer Meadow-Pipits, Starlings, 

 Goldcrests, Pied Wagtails, Yellow Wagtails, and Swallows, 

 all singly except the Skylarks and Swallows, which passed in 

 small parties. These migrants not unfrequently followed 

 each other in quick succession, but there were usually greater 

 or lesser intervals between their appearances. Not a few 

 alighted on the ship, most of them appearing somewhat 

 mysteriously, for, as a rule, they escaped notice until they 

 perched upon the rail or rigging. Some of these visitors 

 were both tired and hungry and spent a considerable time 

 with us, busying themselves in an active search for insects, 

 of which we had numbers on board at the time * Others 

 remained for a few moments only and then took their 

 departure. In all cases the birds on leaving the ship winged 

 their way towards the coast of Kent f. 



* For an account of some of the insects observed on the Kentish Knock 

 Lightship, see the ' Entomologist's Monthly Magazine ' for December 

 1903, p. 289. 



| Sept, 19th was a great day for migrants (probably most of them 



