180 BIRD LIFE THROUGHOUT THE YEAR 



their own. Those migrants which showed then- 

 superior hardiness by being the first to come are 

 amongst the last to go. The Wheatear lingers for some 

 time longer about the sand-dunes and warrens of the 

 coast, and the Chiffchaff may be seen, often hawking 

 for the flies attracted by the flowering ivy, until October 

 is well under weigh. The Pied Wagtails and Meadow 

 Pipits collect in the meadows and upon low-lying 

 flats in preparation for moving southward. In fact 

 the migratory flocks of pipits are as familiar a feature 

 at this time of year as they were upon their return 

 in spring. The birds move in leisurely fashion, and 

 will often spend the greater part of a day chasing and 

 playing about a sunny slope. 



It is to arrivals from the north that we must look 

 to fill the ranks thinned by the departure of the soft- 

 billed summer birds. The Snipe come to reinforce 

 the numbers, comparatively small, of their kindred 

 which have remained with us to breed. Flights of 

 waders — Godwit and Knot, Greenshank and Grey 

 Plover — settle upon the mud-banks and oozy channels 

 of the coast, often to pass on after a few hours of rest. 

 The Wigeon, first of the "flight ducks " to reach us, 

 pitch in sheltered bays and upon tidal waters, where 

 also the Divers once more appear, following the south- 

 ward movements of sprat and herring. Many of them 

 are young birds, and the old ones no longer show the 

 distinctive plumage which they exhibit during the 



