47 
AUTUMNAL MIGRATION OF BIRDS ON THE N.E. COAST. 
By Joun CorDEAux. 
THE autumn of 1877 was in some respects peculiar; the tem- 
perature was exceedingly mild, with a long succession of winds, 
blowing with greater or lesser force from points varying from 
W.N.W. to 8.S.E. From the middle of September to the end of 
November there was not a single gale, or even a strong breeze, 
from the N., N.E. or E. This long continuance of favourable 
passage winds for the birds caused our immigrants to pass 
forward without alighting on any part of our east coast district; 
consequently we saw very little of them, and the season was 
comparatively barren of incident. Mr. Gatke says this also has 
been the case in Heligoland. “There has,” he writes, “never 
been so wretched an autumn since | have lived on this rock—now 
forty years.” 
Knots, birds of the year, appeared on the Humber flats on the 
24th August, and about the same date we had large arrivals of 
_ Redshanks. In fact, this latter species was extremely plentiful 
throughout the Humber district, both on the Yorkshire and Lincoln- 
shire coasts. Mr. Boyes, of Beverley, informs me that he saw an 
immense flock of Redshanks at Spurn on the 12th September, four 
or five hundred together; and when I was there, a month later, the 
Redshanks were by far the commonest of any birds on the coast. 
The autumn of 1876 was remarkable for the great flight of 
Short-eared Owls between North Durham and the Wash, also 
further south. In 1877 they were altogether wanting, and no 
wonder after the warm reception they then met with. The bulk 
of the immigrants, which ought to have gone northward again in 
the spring, were immediately shot down and converted into hand- 
screens. On the whole coast line I only heard of four—namely, 
one on the Ist October in this parish, one at Spurn in October, 
and two owls which passed over the Tees floating lightship on the 
21st October probably belonged to this species. 
The first Hooded Crows were seen on the 7th October. They 
came in greater numbers than usual from this date to the end of 
November, at intervals. 
Snow Buntings were seen at Spurn at the end of the second 
week in October. On the 17th IL only saw two, both fine adults, 
