BIRDS OF DUMFRIESSHIRE 251 
had apparently just arrived from their summer-quarters, 
for they were so tired as not to fly unless approached within 
thirty yards. Mr. R. Service estimated their numbers 
at ten thousand.* 
The Barnacles are singularly consistent in the dates of 
their arrival and departure ; and they always arrive on our 
shores during the afternoon or evening. September 28th to 
30th is the time of their appearance, and April 18th to 20th 
of their departure north. In 1908 two flocks, numbering 
twenty-eight and twelve respectively, were seen on the 
Solway in the vicinity of Southerness on July 4th, an 
unprecedented late date ; though in 1886 a single Barnacle- 
Goose (probably aihng) was seen on the Blackshaw Bank 
throughout the summer. " Mabie Moss " writes as regards 
the direction of their migration : " they come down in a 
direct hne from the Clyde, probably from the Hebrides. 
In spring they fly off at nightfall direct northwards from 
the Blackshaw, "t but a very large proportion, so Mr. R. 
Service informs me, take a direction leading north-west. On 
their migrations they are often seen overhead inland, and are 
seldom known to alight ; but Mr. J. Little writes me that he 
has seen Barnacle-Geese resting on the moors near Moffat. 
In some seasons they are more abundant than in others, 
their numerical strength on our coast being presumably 
influenced by the severity of the weather or otherwise in 
their more northern resorts. Small flocks are occasionally 
seen in advance of the main bodies, and similarly some 
Hnger after the majority have departed. During their stay 
on our coast, they are constantly changing their feeding- 
grounds as the grass grows old. In the winter of 1878- 
1879 Barnacles were unusually abundant ; they fed inland 
in the daytime along the banks of the Nith, and one game- 
keeper near Dumfries shot fifteen in one day.{ In 1881- 
1882 they were fewer in numbers as compared with the 
* Ann. Scot. Nat. Hist., 1903, p. 199. 
t Kirkcudbright Advertiser, October 10th, 1898. 
t Proc. Nat. Hist. Soc. Glasg., 1879, Vol. IV., p. 178. 
