558 
BULLETIN OF THE NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY. 
till frozen out. The main body of their flight is, I think, decidedly 
later than it used to be, but the time varies in different years, and 
the numbers are sadly diminished from what they were in the 
seventies. The clutches of young geese are particularly fond of 
the moss,” and after their arrival often entice the whole body 
of birds to same distant spot on “the moss, ’’where they remain for 
hours. Years ago the daily flight of the geese when undisturbed 
was very regular. They fed in the two Malbaies on the roots of 
the eel-grass through the night till the tide was about half-flood, 
when they would fly to the Big Lake to drink, and from thence to 
Little Shippegan Harbor where the day was spent, to return to 
the Big Lake again at about half-flood tide, and thence again to 
the Malbaies. Of late years the tides seem to have much less in- 
fluence, and the evening flight is postponed till dusk or even 
later. When the birds are numerous, the shores of the Malbaies 
are lined with floating eel-grass, every root of which has been 
nipped off. 
Brant are such a late arrival that they hardly come into the 
season I speak of. An occasional flock comes in from the north 
in September, and the earliest date at which I have seen them is 
September 18th. In late October they are abundant. 
All varieties of birds are much less numerous then formerly, 
while some have almost abandoned the ground. Changes in the 
local surroundings will account for part of this loss. “The moss” 
is much more disturbed by travellers, the number of gunners has 
increased many fold, and the gunning is indiscriminate and 
injudicious; extensive fires and the resulting blueberries are much 
less common than formerly. All of these factors are, I think, of 
importance, but in addition I am confident there has been a 
change in the course of the flight of some varieties. This is 
especially true of the golden plover, for I hear of large flights of 
these on Prince Edward Island when there have been none on 
Miscou, where twenty-five years ago we should have had the 
same flight. 
