CHAPTER XIX 



FAIR ISLE, THE BRITISH HELIGOLAND 



On consulting a map of Scotland, with a view to select- 

 ing a bird-watching station in which to spend my autumn 

 vacation in 1905, I was much impressed with the favour- 

 able situation of Fair Isle for that purpose. It seemed, 

 theoretically, to afford quite a number of exceptional 

 advantages. It appeared to me to lie right in the line 

 of flight of the hosts of migrants which in spring and 

 autumn traverse our shores and islands when proceeding 

 to and from their summer homes in Northern Europe. 

 Another important feature was its isolation, which would 

 render it a most welcome resting-place for the migrants 

 performing these seasonal passages. Here, too, the bird 

 visitors would be concentrated within narrow limits, 

 and its moderate size would make it possible to ascer- 

 tain, with some degree of accuracy, what species were 

 present daily. All these factors are of extreme import- 

 ance to the would-be observer of bird-migration. 



Besides these considerations there was yet another 

 — namely, the fact that practically nothing was known 

 concerning the bird-life of this little-visited island, 

 though it may be noted that its falcons were famous 

 some three hundred years ago. 



My forecast of the importance of Fair Isle as a 



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