LXXXII BIRDS OF DUMFRIESSHIRE 
in March, those Curlews which have possibly wintered on the 
shores of the Mediterranean return via the Solway to their 
nesting-grounds in our upland districts ; but at the same time 
numbers arrive and remain on our shores, awaitmg the 
instinct that tells them that their breeding-haunts m the far 
north are ready for their reception, and individuals of this 
species are occasionaUy seen or heard passing overhead as 
late as May. . , 
So far as can be gathered, our spnng-migrants are noticed 
some seven to ten days earlier near the shore than m the 
northern and eastern districts of the county ; the Cuckoo, 
for instance, being as a rule first reported from the littoral 
parishes, then from Lochmaben, then Canonbie, and then 
generally throughout the county. The sequence of passage 
of our immigrants from httoral to inland localities is usually 
quite marked. It is also behaved that such species as the 
Swallow, Martin and Cuckoo come up the Irish Channel 
and are noted on either side, and in GaUoway and Dumfries- 
shire, distinctly sooner than throughout Great Britam 
at localities to the eastward of this Une. There would seem 
to be less obstacles (such as low temperature) to be overcome 
by birds coming along this route from the Spanish and French 
headlands ; and observations extending over many years 
have led Mr. R. Service to form this opinion. ^ 
" In some springs the Redwings and Fieldfares crowd 
down ' in Solway to a very large extent during April, and 
they occasionaUy remain well on into May. . . -^^^ 
late stay of these birds when they cover the pasture fields, 
their voices mingUng with the songs of the Willow- Warbler, 
the Cuckoo, and the Corncrake is of somewhat incongruous 
effect, but is a pleasant and not rare experience."* 
From time to time irregular immigrations take place; as in 
1888 (and in a lesser degree in 1863), when the county was 
visited by Pallas's Sand-Grouse. In seasons when beech- 
mast is plentiful, large flocks of Bramblings arrive with 
* Ann. Scot. Nat. Hist., 1903, p. 202. 
