﻿ORNITHOLOGICAL 
  NOTES 
  FROM 
  KILLALA 
  BAY, 
  dc. 
  805 
  

  

  feeding 
  in 
  the 
  fields 
  ; 
  a 
  little 
  after 
  eight 
  o'clock 
  they 
  begin 
  

   dropping 
  in 
  from 
  all 
  directions, 
  in 
  little 
  flocks 
  of 
  from 
  five 
  up 
  to 
  

   fifty 
  birds, 
  until 
  about 
  ten 
  o'clock, 
  when 
  all 
  are 
  assembled 
  in 
  one 
  

   great 
  stand, 
  where 
  they 
  remain 
  resting 
  until 
  just 
  before 
  dusk, 
  

   when 
  they 
  become 
  very 
  restless, 
  and, 
  after 
  rising 
  and 
  pitching 
  

   a 
  few 
  times, 
  all 
  leave, 
  and, 
  separating 
  into 
  little 
  flocks, 
  scatter 
  

   all 
  over 
  the 
  country 
  to 
  their 
  several 
  feeding-grounds. 
  If 
  not 
  

   associating 
  with 
  Curlew, 
  the 
  punt- 
  shooter 
  can 
  almost 
  always 
  

   calculate 
  on 
  obtaining 
  a 
  shot 
  at 
  Golden 
  Plover, 
  provided 
  he 
  has 
  

   water 
  enough 
  to 
  float 
  him 
  within 
  shot 
  ; 
  but 
  if 
  Curlew 
  are 
  with 
  

   them 
  he 
  has 
  no 
  chance 
  whatever, 
  these 
  birds 
  rising 
  and 
  scaring 
  

   the 
  Plover 
  long 
  before 
  he 
  is 
  within 
  shooting 
  distance. 
  However, 
  

   I 
  have 
  sometimes 
  managed 
  to 
  obtain 
  a 
  shot, 
  after 
  driving 
  off 
  the 
  

   Curlew 
  without 
  scaring 
  the 
  Plover, 
  by 
  paddling 
  slowly 
  by, 
  two 
  

   or 
  three 
  hundred 
  yards 
  from 
  the 
  flock 
  ; 
  then 
  the 
  Curlew 
  begin 
  

   to 
  get 
  suspicious 
  and 
  leave 
  in 
  small 
  lots, 
  dribbling 
  slowly 
  away 
  

   until 
  all 
  have 
  left, 
  without 
  alarming 
  the 
  Plover 
  ; 
  but 
  if 
  I 
  paddled 
  

   by 
  too 
  close, 
  all 
  the 
  Curlew 
  would 
  have 
  risen 
  together 
  and 
  taken 
  

   the 
  Plover 
  away 
  with 
  them. 
  The 
  foreign-bred 
  Golden 
  Plover 
  

   often 
  remain 
  here 
  long 
  after 
  our 
  home-bred 
  birds 
  have 
  left 
  for 
  

   their 
  breeding 
  haunts. 
  On 
  April 
  25th, 
  1901, 
  I 
  met, 
  in 
  a 
  field 
  at 
  

   Doneen, 
  near 
  this 
  place, 
  a 
  flock 
  of 
  over 
  a 
  hundred 
  birds, 
  all 
  in 
  

   the 
  black-breasted 
  breeding 
  plumage, 
  and 
  they 
  were 
  so 
  remark- 
  

   ably 
  tame 
  as 
  to 
  allow 
  me 
  to 
  walk 
  up 
  within 
  twenty 
  or 
  thirty 
  

   yards 
  to 
  observe 
  them, 
  evidently 
  showing 
  that 
  they 
  were 
  fatigued 
  

   by 
  a 
  long 
  flight 
  from 
  the 
  south, 
  and 
  were 
  resting 
  before 
  con- 
  

   tinuing 
  their 
  northern 
  flight. 
  

  

  The 
  Curlew 
  is 
  another 
  bird 
  that 
  has 
  increased 
  enormously 
  of 
  

   late 
  years, 
  but 
  not 
  by 
  any 
  increase 
  in 
  our 
  home-bred 
  birds, 
  for 
  

   in 
  the 
  breeding-season 
  they 
  are 
  scattered 
  very 
  thinly 
  over 
  their 
  

   vast 
  extent 
  of 
  breeding 
  grounds. 
  The 
  immense 
  flocks 
  that 
  

   appear 
  on 
  the 
  sands 
  in 
  autumn 
  are 
  almost 
  incredible, 
  and 
  should 
  

   be 
  seen 
  to 
  be 
  believed 
  in. 
  One 
  day 
  this 
  past 
  winter 
  I 
  saw 
  on 
  

   the 
  wide 
  expanse 
  of 
  sands 
  already 
  spoken 
  of 
  as 
  haunted 
  by 
  the 
  

   Golden 
  Plover, 
  absolutely 
  acres 
  covered 
  by 
  immense 
  flocks 
  of 
  

   Lapwings, 
  Golden 
  Plover, 
  Curlew, 
  and 
  Godwits 
  — 
  a 
  sight 
  that 
  

   must 
  be 
  seen 
  and 
  not 
  imagined. 
  It 
  was 
  the 
  largest 
  assembly 
  of 
  

   land-birds 
  that 
  I 
  ever 
  saw. 
  To 
  give 
  some 
  idea 
  of 
  the 
  numbers 
  

   of 
  Cuiiew 
  seen 
  that 
  day, 
  there 
  was 
  a 
  flock 
  on 
  the 
  " 
  White 
  

  

  